MKnR: Redux
by MindForgedMan
Summary: A rewrite of Mahouka with some changes I would have preferred in the original story to make it more sensible to me. A greater focus on character's emotional interactions, hopefully somewhat realistic. Tatsuya is a bit OOC, but it's explained why.
1. Chapter 1: Fractured

**(A/N):** Discrepancies between events/motives/characters in this fic and canon Mahouka are largely intended. Not too different generally, but not identical. Also please don't get too mad if the story doesn't go exactly as you want. NOW YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT CANON MAHOUKA SOMETIMES ;-(

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Fractured**

[A.D. 2085]

Lying upon a table, a young boy heard two voices conversing through a haze.

"...is necessary to keep him under control. His power cannot be left unchecked" a feminine voice stated matter-of-factly. Sounding unconvinced, the second voice responded in a pained voice, "Maya, he's already an outcast among the family. This will only distance him from us further…"

Her dark, luscious hair swaying as she shook her head, Maya interrupted "By limiting his emotions and focusing his mind on her, we can keep him close and behaved."

As Maya walked out of the room, a sinister smile crept upon her beautiful face. "And who knows? If you're successful, he might even become a legitimate member of the family. This operation is to the benefit of everyone involved."

Begrudgingly, the boy's mother Miya continued executing her magic. As she altered his mind, she began talking to him in a quiet yet urgent voice.

"...By the time you remember this, you won't need us anymore. But never forget that I always loved you." After finishing her message to him, she wept deeply at what was she was doing to her son.

As the haze enveloped his mind once more, the boy's entire world, his entire being, were centered around one person: his sister. And yet, he could feel something precious was being taken from him in return…

* * *

[A.D. 2092, Okinawa]

(Morning)

She could not understand her brother. Despite his having been her Guardian for about 6 years, Miyuki Shiba found her brother to be an enigma. His astounding fighting prowess, his impeccable housekeeping and yet he was utterly abysmal at the only thing that mattered in her family: magic.

She was never quite sure how to act around him. Although she spoke down to him as a matter of course, he was always so emotionless around her, and yet…

"He seemed to enjoy speaking with Fumiya and Ayako…" she thought aloud.

That small, cute smile he showed when speaking to his second cousins, the way his gaze seemed to soften at their acceptance of him… She wouldn't mind if she could elicit such a reaction in her Guardian.

As her cheeks took on a pink tinge and her eyes widened, she thought "Where did that come from?" She should not feel anything for him. It was hardly proper for her to acknowledge him as anything other than her Guardian. He should dutifully lay down his life to protect hers and she should not bat an eye.

"Why do I feel like this…", she questioned.

And yet she could not deny that she felt… something when he came to her mind, though she knew not what.

* * *

[A.D. Okinawa, 2092]

(Just before noon)

Tatsuya watched as Miyuki enjoyed the sea breeze on the rental boat their family was sailing on.

Tatsuya couldn't help but marvel at his sister's beauty. Her highly symmetrical features, dark hair boasting a healthy sheen and her enchanting icy-blue eyes…

Although Miyuki treated him no differently than the rest of his family, he had felt a powerful draw to her for a long time. Her happiness and her safety: these were non-negotiable. He almost smiled thinking about it.

Even still, his eyes hardened a bit and he his face returned to its usual expressionless state. It was hard not to feel a little bitter that she saw him no differently than his most of their relatives...

* * *

After roughly an hour into their voyage, his senses went into overdrive. Tatsuya and Honami quickly turned to face the threat they both sensed.

Two foam torpedoes were heading toward their boat at high speeds, having been fired from a nearby submerged submarine. Against the protests of his sister, Tatsuya raised his right hand in the direction of the oncoming attack.

Beginning to panic, Miyuki yelled "Honami-san, do something!" Honami, however, stood there and allowed Tatsuya to take charge. Her mother Miya likewise ceded to Tatsuya's initiative. What were they playing at in a time like this? Tatsuya was hardly a magician at all and certainly not enough to stop and attack like this!

And yet she felt an incredible change occur in the world. Suddenly the torpedoes vanished before her brother's outstretched hand as Psions flared around him.

"H-how did you do that?" she asked seriously. How could her brother invoke such a high-level spell? The missiles had been completely decomposed, erased. Wasn't he relegated to his position as a Guardian because he lacked talent at casting magic? If he could stop that enemy attack with such a high-level spell… just what was going on? Did she really know nothing about her own brother?

Rather than answering her, Honami and Tatsuya sprang into action and grabbed their respective charges, seeing to their safety as their boat turned back in the direction of Okinawa. The captain of the boat had reported their situation to the local authorities on the way back.

But before they got too far, they were questioned about what had just occurred by the local Coast Guard.

Several hours later at their hotel, they found themselves giving testimony of the attack to a certain Captain Kazama Hironobu of the Onna Airborne stationed in Okinawa.

Captain Kazama seemed rather interested in Tatsuya, impressed by his responses to the Captain's queries.

"Well Shiba-kun, if you're interested you can stop by the Onna Airborne base later today. I'm sure you'll find the visit of interest." Smiling, he excused himself from the room.

"Tatsuya, if you wish to go you may do so. The Captain was right, you'll find the visit informative." Though her words said it was optional, Miya's tone made it clear this wasn't optional.

"As you command," came his flat response.

Wanting to understand her brother a bit more, Miyuki requested that she be able to attend with her brother.

"That's fine Miyuki. Tatsuya, you are to draw no unwarranted attention to the two of you. Keep up the appearance that you are typical siblings. However, do not forget your place. This doesn't change your relationship with Miyuki."

"Understood."

* * *

Miyuki was surprised and a little upset. While her brother had been in several fights, what really upset her was her brother's behavior.

"So he really can show how he feels, at least a little bit", she muttered.

Her brother seemed more open around the some of the members of the Onna Airborne than he ever was around her.

When he was talking to Lieutenant Sanada about CADs, he Tatsuya seemed almost excited. He and the Sanada were conversing about the range of some CADs the Lieutenant had developed. She didn't even realize he had interests, much less ones that could draw genuine emotions from him.

"Then what does he think of me", she wondered. She recalled a number of instances where he would look at her and his gaze would harden almost imperceptibly.

She felt sick when she realized he probably detested her, even if he would never say it.

Miyuki forced herself to abandon her current line of thought, knowing it would do no good at present. But even still, she couldn't unsee the void his eyes occasionally became when he looked at her.

* * *

[A.D. 2092]

(The next day, midday)

As the Shiba family (Guardians in tow) were preparing to leave Okinawa via their private plane, sirens began blaring.

"An attack?" Miya asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "And just when we were about to leave…"

"Our ride will be here shortly, Miya-sama", Honami answered worriedly.

Having been observing all around them using his Elemental Sight, Tatsuya knew the attackers would be on them soon to prevent people from leaving. Rather than put his sister and Honami in danger and leave them with no way back to the mainland, Tatsuya made a choice.

"I'm going to head off the invaders." No hesitation entered his voice. Nor did his declaration surprise his mother. "Please keep Miyuki safe in my stead Honami-san. Depart as soon as the plane arrives."

"Tatsuya-kun, you can't just throw your life awa-" Honami caught herself. Given their station in life it was ridiculous to say such a thing. It pained her to see his resolve to rush into danger at his age. Pulling him into a strong hug, she said solemnly "Be careful, Tatsuya-kun."

Despite his usual stoicism, he felt at peace in her arms and returned her embrace.

* * *

Giving Honami the warm, genuine smile Miyuki had wanted herself, she heard her brother say reassuringly, "You know I can't be killed so easily, Honami-san."

Donning one of the family's black combat suits and helmet stored with their luggage, he stared at Miya, who seemed to struggle to say something before settling on nodding her head.

He briefly glanced at Miyuki and his eyes unconsciously hardened before he turned and left the airport to delay the invading force.

Though she wouldn't admit it, she was a little upset that he reacted that way to seeing her. She didn't understand how he could put himself in such danger if he seemed to think so poorly of her. Was he doing this out of a sense of duty as her Guardian or as her older brother?

Miyuki didn't see him much differently than before, but her view of him did begin to shift that day.

* * *

A small figure dressed in a black combat suit was decimating foes twice his age. Bullets fired his way disintegrated to dust, weakening the enemy's morale. Opting for close combat, several GAU soldiers went in to slash him with their combat knives.

Sidestepping an overhead slash from the first oncomer, Tatsuya raised his right hand and cleaved the first opponent in two from with a diagonal chop from shoulder to hip. Combat suit bloodied, he continued his slaughter, slicing through numerous limbs and torsos. Having surrounded him during his assault, the enemy's magicians then took aim at him with their spells.

"Take him down!", one shouted desperately as he and his comrades began to deploy their magic against their young foe.

"8 Magic Sequences..." he thought.

Tatsuya's "Elemental Sight" superpower allowed him to perceive the Information Dimension and glean information about what he wished to inspect. On the other hand, his "Decomposition" superpower allowed him to deconstruct Magic Sequences and physical objects. Together, they let him annihilate nearly anything, no matter how far away the target was. All he needed was to perceive the target and it's information.

Tatsuya immediately dispersed the enemy's magic sequences using his Counter Magic - "Gram Dispersion" - shocking all present. By removing portions of their magic sequences, the spells would fail to take effect.

"Even magic doesn't work? What the hell kind of monster is this?!", shouted one the magicians in a panic. Smiling wickedly behind his combat helmet, Tatsuya ensured those were the last words the man ever spoke.

As if to show just how tough he was, the remaining seven magicians were disposed of through Tatsuya's martial arts prowess alone, having their necks broken in seconds.

One of the surviving soldiers attempted to radio in the current situation to his superiors. "HQ, the Japanese dogs have unleashed some kind of monster!", he screamed in terror. "Firearms and magic have no effect on it, and it can revive its injured all-GAH". Tatsuya sliced his right hand through the man's throat without hesitation.

Picking up the nearest site of intense fighting with his "eyes", Tatsuya sped off to provide more support for the Japanese defense forces. Little did he know an interested party had their own set of eyes observing him from afar.

* * *

As a small drone relayed crisp video of a black-clad adolescent tearing through the ranks of the enemy, several Japanese soldiers of the Onna Airborne watched on in awe.

"It's as you said, Captain Kazama. The boy is exceptionally talented," stated an impressed Lieutenant Sanada. The figure destroyed several more activation sequences by blasting them with Psions.

"Indeed. His martial arts ability is excellent for one so young. And the supernatural powers he has shown are magnificent, far beyond what I expected." Kazama said in rapt fascination.

After numerous GAU forces surrounded Tatsuya, the boy snapped his fingers and instantly emitted a powerful blast of sound to knock out the opposition.

"His casting speed is on par with yours, Yanagi." Kazama had rarely seen such a talented youth.

Nodding in agreement, Yanagi quipped "When you said he cast Gram Demolition this afternoon I knew he was talented, but I never expected this level of ability. Whatever he directs his right hand at is vaporized."

Continuing the thought, Kyouko noted "And he's keeping our forces in the battle with his left hand's healing spell… though I'm not sure it can really be called healing magic. That aside, he's becoming quite the rallying point for the soldiers."

Turning to Kazama, she urged caution. "Sir, the likelihood that he is not from the 10 Master Clans or 18 Assistant Houses is slim to none."

Kazama nodded grimly. "Nevertheless, when we spoke today I could sense a level of dissatisfaction in him. A child should not have such blank and defeated eyes. There may be something there we can tap into to bring him on board."

Smiling as the boy again cast his restorative spell on the nearby Japanese forces, he said "And if nothing else we can give our thanks for the services he has rendered. We should assist him in his assault. Move out!"

"Yes sir!" the three responded with a salute.

* * *

(Okinawan Airspace)

The Yotsuba private plane featured the expected amenities of those in the upper-class to possess.

The sole focus of the plane's occupants were the video feed on several screens which had been linked to the camera in Tatsuya's combat visor. Though the Shiba family couldn't see every detail of the slaughter from their vantage point, the gore was unmistakable leading to Miyuki turning her screen off quickly.

Honami Sakurai couldn't tear her eyes away from her screen however. Though she knew it was futile for several reasons, she couldn't help but feel anxious for Tatsuya.

"Tatsuya-kun!"

Honami had actually shouted by mistake. Tatsuya had been subject to a flashbang grenade, followed by a number of explosives from the sound of it.

As the video feed cleared of the accompanying debris, Tatsuya was clearly moving and unharmed, so Honami calmed herself.

Turning towards her charge she apologized nervously. "Madam, I apologize for my unseemly display."

Nodding calmly, Miya returned her attention to the feed.

Although not her own child, Honami felt a strong kinship with Tatsuya as if he _were_ hers. Because she was a Guardian of the Yotsuba family, she would never have children of her own unless allowed to. Neither of their lives were their own, they were to be human shields for Miya and Miyuki.

Focusing back on her video screen, she saw Tatsuya approach what appeared to be a number of Japanese military forces. A number of them carried CADs in addition to firearms.

As she was in no position to defend him herself, she breathed a sigh of relief that he would have reliable assistance in the form of combat magicians.

Honami knew Tatsuya in all likelihood required no help in this fight. But all the same, mothers can't help worrying about their kids.

* * *

A single infantry platoon drove the invading forces to the water's edge. Leading the platoon was a small figure in an obsidian combat suit. It was clearly a child.

Out of context, the scene was ridiculous, maybe even funny.

Laughter was the last thing on anyone's mind as Tatsuya continued to vaporize the GAU forces left and right. He was supported by a barrage of bullets and magic cast by the Onna Airborne forces behind him.

"This kid is no joke…"

"We're damn lucky he's on our side."

The platoon supporting him couldn't help but be awestruck and terrified at the boy's offensive.

Not long after donning the combat suit, Tatsuya made contact with Captain Kazama and agreed to work with the forces under Kazama's command. Tatsuya was mobilized as a Special Lieutenant, a designation created for conflicts in which civilians needed to be mobilized by the military.

Several GAU magicians attempted to stop Tatsuya with combined Cast Jamming via their antinite rings. They were attempting to stop his magic from affecting the Eidos by barraging him with meaningless Psion waves.

Tatsuya simply destroyed the Psion waves themselves, shocking the magicians present in the Onna Airborne. If the target had structure, Tatsuya could decompose it all the same.

"H-how can he use magic under Cast Jamming?!" shouted a GAU combatant before he was torn apart by a hailstorm of bullets, courtesy of Japanese forces.

After putting away his CADs, Tatsuya raised his now-empty right hand again, causing everyone around him to flinch. That hand had become associated with an almost demonic power, even by the Japanese armed forces. Tatsuya used this terror to exploit the invaders psychologically and allow the defense forces to take advantage of the weakness they showed.

Rather than target any of the forces still remaining at the edge of the beach, Tatsuya directed his right hand at the Great Asian Union battleship stationed out at sea.

"No fucking way!" shouted one of the enemy soldiers, realizing what Tatsuya was up to. Though he knew it was useless, the man charged Tatsuya from his front to try and stop the magic from targeting the ship.

"They never learn do they?" Tatsuya mused as the enemy soldier began firing bullets at him. Tatsuya decomposed the man's bullets and engaged him in close combat. Realizing the gun was ineffective, the GAU soldier tossed it away and began to throw punches and kicks at Tatsuya with an impressive level of speed.

However, Tatsuya was even faster. He blocked and avoided all of the man's strikes and closed in from the man's right side to end the fight. The man threw a punch with his left hand in desperation.

Though he blocked the man's final punch, Tatsuya was blown back several feet due to a spiraling force that accompanied the attack.

"Coiled Silk Force, eh? So you are a magician. I commend you for your skill." Closing the gap in a flash, Tatsuya stabbed through the man's chest with his right hand, ending the fight.

So he thought.

The soldier suddenly pulled Tatsuya into a death grip rather than trying to pull away. Several of the remaining GAU magicians were targeting Tatsuya with their magic.

"I knew I couldn't kill you, demon…" The man was gasping, blood spilling from his chest and the corners of his mouth, giving Tatsuya's combat suit a crimson coating. "I was… just giving my comrades time to cast their spells for insurance... I'll drag you to hell myself!"

The man used magic to engulf himself in flames. Tatsuya managed to escape by breaking apart the man's arms with Partial Mist Dispersion and pulled his right arm out of the man's chest. But this left him open to the enemy's spells.

Dozens of magics were directed at him. Tatsuya only managed to counter half of the sequences with Gram Dispersion before the rest fired compressed air at him. They were using an Ancient Magic version of the modern spell "Air Bullet". The activation speed was much slower, but the self-immolated soldier bought them the time to cast it.

"Too late for counter magic…" Tatsuya cursed internally. He avoided the several explosions of compressed air, but still fell victim to 4 of them. The explosions were intensely painful and sent him soaring away like a ragdoll until he landed on the ground in a heap.

"Kid!" shouted Yanagi, having finished off his own opponents. Tatsuya had clearly taken fatal blows and was facedown on the ground, bleeding profusely.

Before the enemy could cheer however, Tatsuya stood up without a scratch on him. Once again, he raised his right hand at the GAU warship in the distance. In an instant the massive warship vanished in a flash of dust and steam, leaving behind an empty horizon.

Having been struck with terror at the sight, the enemy radioed to the remaining GAU ships that were stationed a ways off from Okinawa.

"The Mahesvara can vaporize the battleships as well and he cannot be killed…"

He and his few remaining comrades then awaited their deaths at the hands of unstoppable force before them.

* * *

Rather than try and save a hopeless situation, the remaining GAU naval forces halted their invasion and retreated to GAU held territory.

Though no Strategic-Class Magic would be invoked that night, the Great Asian Union invaders and the Japanese National Defense Force would not soon forget the enigmatic magician who single-handedly turned the tide of the battle in Japan's favor.

The image of that dark figure - bathed in blood and projecting unmatched power - left all in awe as he stormed the battlefield. The name the GAU forces had cried out in fear became the rallying cry of the Japanese defense forces: "Mahesvara!"

* * *

[A.D. April 2095]

(First High School, ~3 years later)

"How could they? You scored so high in the exams, so could they make you a Course 2 student, Onii-san?!" Miyuki was quite upset.

"He can employ such high-level magic. He even made a perfect score on the Magic Theory and Magic Engineering exams…" she muttered bitterly.

"An emphasis is placed on the practical exams. Since I did so poorly on them, I was fortunate to be accepted at all, Miyuki." Tatsuya patted her head, hoping to calm her down.

She was mollified slightly, but continued, "Even normally, you have magic no one else can-"

"Miyuki!"

She caught herself due to his reprimand. "We both know what I can do, so it doesn't matter to me whether or not anyone else recognizes it. I will be fine." He gave her a small smile to help calm her down.

"You should go work on your speech. It would be a shame to miss it."

Nodding sadly, Miyuki began to walk off to prepare for the speech she was giving as the Freshman Representative. Tatsuya began to think over all the changes their relationship had undergone in the last couple of years.

A year after the Okinawa invasion, their mother Miya died from an ailment she had been suffering from for a number of years. Initially, Miyuki was furious and did everything short of dismissing her brother from the family to push him away.

But he could no more part from her than he could stop breathing. Honami became a surrogate mother to them, but there was only so much she could do given her status in the Yotsuba family. Miyuki could not yet see Honami as an equal due to her status as a Guardian. But Tatsuya was there for her to pick up the pieces from their mother's death. He was her shoulder to lean on, to cry into, to hold onto. Before long, she began to see him much differently than before.

They could talk more cordially, more openly, as siblings. He would do anything for her; that's just how he was made to be. He wasn't completely open to Miyuki emotionally just yet. Tatsuya was stoic at the best of times after all. But they had made significant headway.

As he walked around the campus of First High School, Tatsuya realized he had been reminiscing for some quite some time. Spotting an open bench beneath a tree, he sat down and began reading research material on cutting edge magic theory using his handheld terminal.

"Taurus Silver must solve the puzzle of Flying-Type Magic" he thought to himself. In Modern Magic, sustained flight was not yet possible to actualize. Ancient Magic was capable of realizing it, but it lacked the ease of use, mass reproduction and efficiency that was possible with Modern Magic. Hence it was known as one of the Three Puzzles of Weight-Type Magic.

This was a major reason he bothered attending High School in the first place. Much research material was only accessible if one attended an accredited Magic High School, University or research facility. Recognition held very little sway for Tatsuya, as he never expected to receive it.

Before he could get very deep into academic material, he turned to a presence he detected approaching. Soon after the person began talking to him, he felt he needed to leave in a hurry...

* * *

There had been an uproar of sorts among the Student Council of First High. It had been learned that a new student had aced both the Magic Theory and Magic Engineering entrance exams.

It was an unprecedented feat in the history of First High or any of the other Magic High Schools for that matter.

"Tatsuya Shiba eh…"

However, Mayumi Saegusa was flummoxed. Despite his apparent genius, Tatsuya had scored abysmally on the practical portion of the entrance exams. It was tragic to the point of comedy.

"That's quite a shame, he could been something else if his practical ability was even average". Suzune Ichihara said in as stoic an expression as Tatsuya had in his entrance photograph.

"Eh, I'd still like to meet him. He's bound to be phenomenal in his own way, don't you think!"

"A-chan, you seem a bit starstruck!" Mayumi teased. "If his photograph is anything to go by, you will have some competition with Rin-chan."

"Presideeeent..." Azusa was blushing deeply.

"Mayumi, I've told a before to stop with that ridiculous nickname. As for your insinuation about Shiba-kun and I, well, that's ridiculous. In the first place, I haven't even met the guy."

"But you haven't exactly refused to get to know him well, have you?"

Rin (Suzune) went silent. She had known Mayumi long enough to know there was no winning once she started teasing unless you returned fire. Rin doesn't tease people.

Deciding to give her friends a break, Mayumi said "Anyway, I think I'll make the round before the Freshman Representative gives her speech. She shares her surname with Tatsuya-kun, so I'm guessing they're siblings, maybe twins".

"President, you're trying to keep Shiba-kun to yourself, aren't you?" OK, Rin bent the rules and teased Mayumi.

"You have an overactive imagination Rin-chan!" Before anyone could respond she backed out of the Student Council's office.

As she patrolled First High's campus and directed new students to the auditorium, Mayumi overheard several new Course 1 students speaking.

"Awfully early for a Weed."

"Rather presumptive for a mere reserve…"

Mayumi was close to disciplining them for violating the code of conduct against using such an offensive term for Course 2 students, but there wasn't much time left before she had to give her own speech.

Noticing the student they were referring to sitting alone on a bench beneath a nearby tree, Mayumi approached him.

"You should get going to the auditorium. The speech by the incoming Freshman Representative is going to start soon!" She used her more playful tone, hoping it would be more persuasive to the young man.

She was shocked when he turned to face her.

"Oh, it's you Shiba-kun!"

He seemed surprised that she knew him.

"I don't believe we've met, Saegusa-san. And please, call me Tatsuya." As he stood, she realized she only came up to his shoulders. She was a little sensitive about her height.

"Hm, OK Tatsuya-kun but you have to refer to me as Mayumi", she replied teasingly. After he nodded in amusement, she continued "I just recognized you from your entrance photograph. 'Well done' doesn't quite cut it! You aced Magic Theory and Magic Engineering!"

Though she was a little embarrassed that she might be channeling A-chan, Tatsuya's reaction surprised her. He almost seemed put off by her praise, as if he took no pride in it. His eyes seemed to harden in self-loathing for a moment before becoming impassive again.

"No need to be shy, Tatsuya-kun. It's OK to be proud of such an accomplishment. It's never happened in the history of the school!"

Annoyingly, his face simply remained as stoic as his entry photograph. "How is he so unaffected by my teasing?" she thought.

"I must be going President. My sister is about to give her speech."

A bit stunned by how quickly he seemed to brush her off, she shouted as he left "I told you to call me Mayumi, Tatsuya-kun!"

"OK OK. I'll see you around, _President_ Mayumi". She could practically hear his smile.

Why that wise-ass…

As she finished her rounds and headed to the auditorium, wondered why he seemed to think so little of himself.

* * *

After Miyuki had given her speech, which she personally thought had gone rather well, she set off to find her brother.

The President and Vice President of the Student Council were in tow. "I wonder what they want?" she thought to herself.

Upon spotting her brother, she found herself annoyed at her brother's company. One was a brunette girl with a rather large bust and… glasses? "Must be oversensitivity to Pushions" she thought.

The other was a pretty redhead with a lithe body. Though Tatsuya wore his usual, expressionless face, he seemed to be making an effort to make some friends.

"They better not be hanging on him like this all the time…"

Miyuki decided to take out her irritation on her brother.

"Onii-san, have you started dating already? Don't be such a heartbreaker." She sounded playful enough, but her brother knew her we enough to know she was bothered by something.

"Miyuki, insinuating such a thing to strangers can be considered rude."

"I apologize for my childish remark." Miyuki bowed along with her apology, showing the traits of a proper Mistress of her family.

"Eh, there's no need to be so formal. I'm Erika Chiba. It's nice to meet you!" Miyuki smiled at the redhead's straightforward and down-to-earth attitude.

Though blushing rather much, the brunette spoke up as well. "It's quite alright Miyuki-san."

Looking to Miyuki's side, her brother noticed her company.

"Fancy seeing you again, Tatsuya-kun." Mayumi added a wink to tease her brother.

"Indeed Mayumi. I'm starting to wonder if I'm being stalked." Tatsuya showed a slight smirk as he said this.

"Wha- Y-you can't say that after only meeting twice. Isn't that as rude as what you reprimanded Miyuki-chan for?" The Student Council President was puffing her cheeks in annoyance.

"Ah, you're right." Bowing slightly, he said "I apologize, _President_ Mayumi". The wry smile on his face told Miyuki he was teasing the Student Council President.

Miyuki was somewhat surprised. Though he seemed more sociable and expressive as of late, her brother rarely engaged in such teasing.

Seemingly sensing Miyuki's growing annoyance, Tatsuya spoke to her. "Is the President done with you Miyuki-chan? If not I can come for you when she's done."

Miyuki hadn't thought about that. She had only been concerned about keeping her brother waiting.

Assuming a more formal demeanor, Mayumi responded "Oh it's fine, we can handle our business with Miyuki-chan another time." Then her playful side peaked out as she said "And you Tatsuya-kun. Let's have a nice, long talk sometime."

With that she left, leaving Tatsuya with an upturned eyebrow, and Miyuki a bit miffed.

"Let's head home Miyuki. I'm sure Honami will want to hear all about our day." His smile put her at ease, so she bade their new friends goodbye.

As they walked home, Miyuki thought about the emotions her brother had shown. While Tatsuya often showed the bare minimum of emotion to avoid coming off as robotic, she couldn't help but wonder how much she saw today was genuine. He seemed to be more human than in the past, if only a little.

* * *

 **UPDATE (16th September 2017):** Fixed formatting. Since I write these using Google Docs for convenience, I didn't realize stripped away Docs's horizontal bars. Hopefully now it's easier to read, sorry!

 **(A/N):**

This is my first time writing anything outside of school related stuff, so I'm probably making a bunch of errors. Thankfully, I had a few people on the Mahouka Wiki Discord sever look this over while I was writing it, so hopefully it didn't turn out too bad. I'd like to thank **Immorel** , **Legate** , **Shutforever** and **Fross** from the aforementioned Discord. Their responses and edit suggestions helped make my fic less shitty than it otherwise would have been.

Anyway, if you enjoyed this fic, let me know. And if you think there are areas I can improve, tell me exactly what the problem is so I can hopefully get better. I' sure if this is the average length I want each chapter to be yet, if I continue this. Probably will be somewhat flexible, but preferring to get to at least 2k - 3k words, just to make them somewhat meaty.


	2. Chapter 2: Wasted

**(A/N):** Changes between the events, characters and world mechanics in this fic from the canon are largely intentional. Otherwise, I try to keep things working the same as they do in canon Mahouka.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Wasted**

 **[A.D. 2092, April]**

"Honami-san, we're home!" came a cheerful feminine voice from the just opened front door.

Excited, Honami rushed to the front door as the boy and girl walked in.

"How was your first day?" The teens seemed to be smiling, though Miyuki's appeared somewhat strained.

"Oh it was great! First High's campus is quite nice." Miyuki's voice was almost falsely cheerful.

In his usual reserved manner, Tatsuya said "We met some interesting characters for sure. And Miyuki's speech was fantastic, naturally."

Miyuki blushed a bit at his honest praise. "Still, Onii-san's accomplishments were devalued. They made him a Course 2-"

"Miyuki, we've been through this. It doesn't matter."

Accepting his light reprimand, she let out a brief sigh and nodded her head. Honami couldn't help but smirk at how their relationship had changed since Miya died.

Although Honami and Miya had a nice enough relationship as far as Yotsuba Guardians went, she always found Miya's treatment of Tatsuya awful. Miyuki hadn't been much better frankly. She had treated him as an afterthought at best and a nuisance at worst. Miyuki certainly never let Tatsuya scold her for her misdeeds and selfishness in their younger days.

Because Honami was owned by the Yotsuba family, she was never allowed kids of her own. Yet, she and Tatsuya had nearly always been as if they _were_ mother and child. She took care of Tatsuya when he was hurt and refused to use Regrowth as a form of penance. She taught him how to act in public, how to quickly detect threats to his sister and even how to fight a little… though he quickly surpassed her. Tatsuya seemed to have a greater emotional capacity around her and she swelled with pride at drawing them out of him.

After Miya died, the Yotsuba designated Honami Sakurai to act as the surrogate mother of the Shiba siblings. Because their father - Tatsurou Shiba - was remarried he became estranged from his children, namely Miyuki. Honami took to her new role as if born to do it.

Pointing at his uniform's emblemless shoulder and smiling, she stated "Well you'll just have to show them this doesn't define you. You're more than the constraints they put on you."

Genuinely grinning, Tatsuya embraced Honami which left Miyuki looking a bit jealous. Nipping the impending ice age in the butt, Honami quickly returned the hug and said "OK, let's get ready for dinner you two! I made curry~"

"Hai, Honami-san!" The promise of her favorite food caused Miyuki's mood to rebound in a flash. The young girl dashed into the kitchen.

"Too easy," thought Honami, giving Tatsuya an impish smile. The boy shook his head at her manipulations and followed after his sister.

* * *

 **(Next day, 2nd day of school)**

As the Shiba siblings were walking to school, a certain redhead spotted them from across the street.

As she ran over to greet them, Erika called out "Tatsuya-san, Miyuki-san!"

"Good morning, Erika". Tatsuya responded in his usual formal tone.

"This guy doesn't miss a beat, does he?" she said to herself.

"It's nice to see you again, Erika. What are you doing here?" The girl's response was polite, if a bit stiff. Erika still couldn't believe how beautiful this girl was.

"Did I do something to upset her?" Erika thought. Putting that aside, she responded "Well this the path I take to school. It's a public sidewalk, ya know?"

"You're quite straightforward. Most people get flustered around me and cave." Smiling kindly, she continued "We'll get along well I'm sure."

"Phew. That worked out." She thought as she breathed out a sigh.

Turning her attention to the brother, she thought he was decent looking, but not overly so like Miyuki. Still, his flawless posture and commanding gaze gave off an air of authority unbefitting his age.

"I wonder what the story is there?"

Before she could say anything to Tatsuya, he spoke up. "I'm going to walk Miyuki to her class Erika. I'll see you in a bit."

"Eh?" Erika hadn't realized they had already made it to First High, having been lost in thought for a short time.

Before she got her bearings, the two had already walked off towards Miyuki's classroom. Because Erika and Tatsuya scored low on their practical exams, they were placed in class 1-E. But given Miyuki's outstanding score on all the portions of the exams, she was placed in class 1-A.

"Well, he definitely doesn't know how to treat women not named 'Miyuki'..."

* * *

As Tatsuya began registering for classes he caught the attention of his fellow classmates for using the keyboard. It was seen as antiquated at the end of the 21st century.

"My my, you're going a breakneck speeds there buddy" a new voice intruded.

As he looked at the source, the unknown, brown-haired boy rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "That was out of the blue, sorry. It's just odd to see strict keyboard use. The name is Leonhart Saijou*, but you can call me Leo. I specialize in Fortifying Magic. What sort of magic do you specialize in, Mr...?"

"Shiba, Tatsuya Shiba," he replied simply. "My practical magical ability is quite low so I have no real specialities to speak of. However, I only ever intended to become a Magic Engineer so it's no big loss as far as I'm concerned."

Speaking up for the first time, Mizuki said "I too am interested in becoming a Magic Engineer, Shiba-kun."

"Well you do seem like the type, Tatsuya-kun. You're obviously a smart guy" the boy said with a grin.

"Well that makes one of you", Erika interjected.

Annoyed, Leo pointed at Erika and asked "Tatsuya, who is this guy?"

Erika furrowed her brow in annoyance. "Are you really going to call me a guy right out the gate? Jerk."

"What goes around comes around lady."

"Are they serious?" Tatsuya thought. They were bickering like a couple. "This is almost cliché, you two. Maybe just admit you're attracted to each other and get this over with. A dragged out romance is only interesting in fiction."

"Eh?! Don't be stupid Tatsuya!"

"What?! Tatsuya come on, she's only slightly good looking. Don't lump us together…"

The two quieted in embarrassment, which was Tatsuya's plan all along, allowing him to complete his classwork in quiet.

Because of the intermittent peace in the world, an outbreak of war could occur with little warning. The role of magicians as living weapons was firmly settled with their deployment in World War 3 and the discovery of Strategic-Class Magic. Because some magic could rival nuclear arms in terms of output without the associated radiation, magic was nearing the point where it may eclipse traditional arms altogether.

This left Magic High Schools in an unfair, yet understandable position. Because magicians were to be weapons, magic education prioritized expedient and practical results before equality. This even extended to the availability of teachers, leaving Course 2 students to work on their own while Course 1 students monopolized the instructors.

This did not bother Tatsuya, however. Because he was already a working Magic Engineer, his only interest in attending school was to be near Miyuki and to have access to otherwise restricted magic research. Lacking instructors allowed him to finish his coursework very quickly and make progress toward his chief goal.

After pulling up cutting edge research relating to Flying-Type Magic, Tatsuya had become engrossed in a report on the results of a recent English experiment on the subject.

"` _Actualizing Generalized Flying-Type Magic via Post-Event Zone Interference_ `. Hmm…" The experiment was a bust and it was clear early in the report that the researchers made a conceptual error in their understanding of Counter Magic and phenomenon rewriting.

The roadblock to realizing Flying-Type Magic for general use was that to change directions in mid-air, the magician has to deploy a new Magic Sequence with greater Interference Strength than the previous sequence. This led to an obvious bottleneck where the required Interference Strength to maintain the magic quickly exceeded what the magician was capable of. This caused the magician to fall out of the sky after ten phenomenon rewrites.

The researchers were attempting to circumvent this problem by using Counter Magic to destroy the previous Magic Sequences and thus prevent the Interference bottleneck. Their error was that Magic Sequences can only be used on Information Bodies, not on other Magic Sequences. If another magic has the same target, both spells will be present in the Information Body but only the magic with the higher Interference Strength will actually rewrite phenomena in the physical world.

This holds even for Zone Interference magic, so either way ever increasing Interference Strength was required unless one could destroy the Magic Sequence itself. In essence, Counter Magic would only be a solution for Generalized Flying-Type Magic if one could reliably cast Non-Systematic Counter Magic such as Gram Demolition repeatedly. But this had the same problem of requiring the magician to destroy increasingly stronger Magic Sequences, which would be a problem even for Tatsuya to maintain. Not to mention it demanded a spell that already had precious few practitioners. It could hardly be considered a generalization of Flying-Type Magic.

Before he could investigate other research ventures, the bell signaling the end of class rang. Sighing, he set off for lunch with his classmates and friends.

"I hope Miyuki is having a more fruitful time in her class…"

* * *

Although the coursework was fairly easy for her, Miyuki had enjoyed her classes at First High so far. She even found herself befriending a couple of her classmates, Shizuku and Honoka. However, the arrogance of most of her fellow Course 1 students was aggravating. Their placement left them with a ridiculous superiority complex, despite most of them lacking any experience using their abilities in real-world situations like her brother.

Spotting her brother in the lunchroom, Miyuki called out "Onii-san!"

"It's good to see you Miyuki" he responded with a smile.

"Miyuki, you can sit next to me!" Erika said excitedly.

Leo seemed a bit stunned to see her at their table. "And who is this?" he asked confusedly.

"My name is Miyuki Shiba."

"Tatsuya, you never mentioned you had a sister. Man, I thought we were friends…"

"Leo, we barely had time to speak in class so we're not especially strong friends yet, right?"

"Get your jaw of the ground, Leo. She's out of your league." Erika pulled no punches. Leo glared at her.

Before her fellow freshman could continue their banter, a voice called out "Shiba-san, there's no need to sit with them."

"Yea, don't lower yourself by hanging around a bunch of Weeds."

"Blooms should stick together."

"Come eat lunch with us Shiba-san."

And there it was. They knew nothing about her brother and his classmates, yet because of the results of a few exams thought themselves so far above them that they used banned terms like "Blooms" and "Weeds". The first speaker, Morisaki Shun, seemed particularly consumed by this nonsense.

"I'll sit with whoever I please. If you're all so superior, you'll be just fine without me." Her icy tone and annoyed expression left no doubt they wouldn't convince her.

Her brother stood up and said "I'm already finished eating Miyuki. I'll see you after school." As he left, their new friends bid her farewell and left with him.

Miyuki was even more annoyed that those twerps ruined her time with Tatsuya, leaving her with a somewhat rigid expression the rest of the day.

As Tatsuya was leaving First High with Miyuki and his friends in tow, they were accosted by the Course 1 students from before.

"Shiba-san, can we have a word with you? Alone?" Morisaki just didn't know when to quit.

Mizuki seemed to have had enough of him as well, responding "Why do you think you can just split Tatsuya and Miyuki apart? They're brother and sister!"

"Mizuki, w-what are you insinuating about Onii-san and I?!" The Course 2 students all stared at her, causing her to blush harder than she already was.

"We just want to talk to her!"

"You Weeds need to learn your place. You're just reserves, second-rate magicians!"

Leo and Erika looked pissed and were likely to escalate the situation, and Tatsuya-noticed one of the Course 1 girls was readying magic to stop everyone from fighting. Although Tatsuya detected the presence of someone familiar coming to calm the situation, he chose to handle it himself.

"Morisaki Shun." As he stepped forward, his is authoritative voice commanded everyone's attention, including that of the two onlookers.

"What do _you_ want?" Morisaki sneered.

"Did you not understand Miyuki's words at lunch? Or are you suggesting my sister is incapable of deciding with whom she spends her time?" Tatsuya's tone was laced with anger at the idea that someone would treat Miyuki as a fool.

"N-no. But there's no need for her to lower her standing by associating with you and your ilk. She doesn't understand, it will only hurt her down the line."

"As you _are_ questioning Miyuki's mental faculties, I have no choice but to show you how little you understand. I challenge you to a simulated battle, tomorrow after school ends." Tatsuya's gaze never left Morisaki's eyes, making the latter uncomfortable.

"Fine, I accept your challenge, Weed. Once Shiba-san sees how wide the gap between us is, she'll understand why this needed to be done."

As Morisaki took off with a huff, most of his fellow Course 1 students left with him. However, 2 stayed behind which elicited a sigh of relief from Miyuki.

"T-Tatsuya-senpai, I apologize for the behavior of my classmates." The brown-haired girl seemed nervous for some reason. If Tatsuya wasn't so emotionally inept, he might have realized the reason behind her nervousness.

"It's no big deal, you aren't responsible for their childish behavior. Also, there's no need for 'senpai'. We're both freshman after all."

The other - a gray-haired girl wearing a similar expression as Tatsuya - spoke up this time. "We should have spoken up. Those guys have their heads up their asses. I'm Shizuku Kitayama". She gave a slight bow as introduced herself.

The other girl seemed embarrassed that she hadn't introduced herself yet. "My name is Honoka Mitsui."

"Pleased to meet the both of you. My name is Tatsuya Shiba." He was surprised to see a child of the Kitayama family. Ushio Kitayama was a well known financial giant, while his wife Benio was a famous magician in her own right.

"Tatsuya, why did step in like that?" Shizuku asked.

After pausing for a moment, he responded "The situation was escalating rather quickly over something so ridiculous." He then eyed Honoka and continued "Not to mention I didn't want anyone to get in serious trouble for illegally using magic. You may have only been using a Flash spell, but you would still have run afoul of the law."

Honoka hung her head in shame and nodded.

"And as I said, I find it irksome that they would suggest Miyuki is incapable of picking who to associate with. This duel gives me the opportunity to set them straight."

Before Tatsuya and the others left, Honoka spoke up. "Tatsuya-kun… could I walk with you and your friends?"

Everyone else could see Honoka was interested in Tatsuya. But Tatsuya, well, he didn't. So he was confused as to why Miyuki seemed to be a little annoyed at Honoka when he nodded his head in response to the girl's question.

* * *

A girl of average height with dark, neck-length hair had been observing the interactions from afar with Mayumi.

"Well this year's crop seems to have some interesting types. These Course 2 students seem like they can stand up to those enamored with their own 'superiority'. I wonder how tall, dark and handsome knew what spell that girl was going to use?"

"Indeed. I'm glad Tatsuya-kun was able to defuse the situation before things went south." Mayumi sighed in relief. "Not sure about the spell though, he must have been guessing."

"Oh, you're on a first name basis with him already Mayumi? My my, he must be an interesting one. Though the height difference might make things a bit awkward if you start dating him." She smirked, as it wasn't often Mayumi got a taste of her own medicine.

"Mari, what are you trying to say?!" Mayumi's face went red at the teasing.

"Nothing much really. You just couldn't keep your eyes off him, could you?"

"I was just looking in that general direction. Maybe I should inform Naotsugu that you seem to be interested in younger men after all." Mayumi knew she was hitting below the belt, but then again she wasn't always the most mature senior at school.

"Pfft, Shu knows how you are", she responded dismissively. "Still, we should watch the match they're having tomorrow. It could be interesting… for more than one reason." She winked at Mayumi.

"Hmph. Fine. But I'm only going because you suggested it." Mayumi stomped off in annoyance.

"Yep, things will definitely be interesting this year." Smiling, Mari took off after her friend.

* * *

 **(The next school day, lunchtime)**

As Tatsuya and Miyuki were invited to have lunch with the Student Council, they were nearing the Student Council office. Tatsuya wondered what they wanted.

He was sure they intended to ask Miyuki to join them because of her stellar performance on the entrance exams, but that didn't explain the request for his presence. Knocking and announcing their arrival, he opened the door.

"Tatsuya-kun, Miyuki-chan, I'm glad you both made it."

"Of course Mayumi-senpai."

"President." He inclined his head.

"T-Tatsuyaaaaaa..." Mayumi was pouting at his referring to her by her title.

Tatsuya's lack of reaction caused the girl sitting to Mayumi's left to giggle. After introducing the Shiba siblings to the members of the Student council and Mari - the head of the Public Morals Committee - Mayumi took the opportunity to bring up the reason for Miyuki's invitation.

"Miyuki-chan, would you be interested in joining the Student Council? It's traditional for the student with the highest entrance scores to join as the Freshman Representative."

Miyuki glanced at Tatsuya questioningly. He smiled and shook his head encouragingly… which she took as permission to get her way.

"I'll accept if you would consider my brother as well!"

"Oi, Miyuki come on-"

"Onii-san took the top spot in the written exams, he's much more deserving of this than I." Miyuki ignored Tatsuya's interruption, to his annoyance.

Suzune spoke up, saying "That can't be done I'm afraid. The restriction of Student Council positions to Course 1 students isn't just a student dogma. It's a regulation and can only be changed through vote by the Student body. The President would have to introduce such a motion herself at the end of the semester." Tatsuya was glad for Suzune's blunt and thorough response. He had no aspirations to join them in the first place, it would only detract from his research time.

Deflated, Miyuki responded "Forgive me for my outburst, Mayumi-senpai. I'd be honored to accept your invitation to join the council."

"It's no trouble Miyuki. Rin-chan is just a bit… blunt at times."

Looking at Mayumi, Tatsuya stated "You know it's odd that you refer to Ichihara-senpai as 'Rin-chan', right? It's not a very good nickname."

Suzune almost looked grateful that someone else was finally fighting for her right to use her actual name. Mari began to chuckle at Tatsuya's own bluntness.

"Eh? W-w-who asked you, _Ta-kun_."

Tatsuya just stared at her blankly. "No."

"Sorry Ta-kun, I'm not talking to right now." She turned her head away childishly.

Tatsuya sighed in defeat. Though he expected Miyuki to be annoyed on his behalf, she seemed to be suppressing giggles herself, along with Azusa. He didn't know what he did to deserve this.

As the lunch period was nearing its end, Mari decided to ask a question she'd been wanting answered.

"Tatsuya-san, why did you challenge Morisaki Shun to a simulated battle?"

Briefly glancing at Mayumi before answering, Tatsuya observed "So you two were watching yesterday. Well, I believe I explained myself then. I won't allow such insinuations about Miyuki go unchallenged."

Rejoining the conversation, Mayumi asked in a worried tone "Is that really all, Tatsuya-kun?"

Raising an eyebrow, he responded "This isn't about getting payback on Course 1 students, I've no interest in something so pointless."

"Do you think you can win?"

"I'm confident in my abilities", he said without hesitation.

Mari smiled, "Well I think we should all attend and see if you can back up that confidence."

"If you wish."

Clapping her hands together, Mayumi concluded the get-together. "Well thank you for your time Miyuki-chan and Ta-kun. We'll be sure to stop by and watch the simulated battle this afternoon. See you then~"

Sighing at the silly nickname Mayumi had given him, Tatsuya stood with Miyuki and bade his seniors goodbye.

* * *

 **(An hour after school ended, a First High Battle Simulation room)**

Mayumi was a little nervous about the upcoming match. Though Tatsuya showed no hesitation as he walked into the battle simulation room, she couldn't ignore his very poor score on the practical entrance exams.

Hattori had thought attending was a waste of time, yet had come so as to follow Mayumi. Mayumi has no interest in him, poor guy.

"This will be over in a flash President, you'll see. This guy is a fool if he thinks he can overcome Morisaki-san in combat."

Looking at Morisaki Shun, she couldn't ignore that he scored far higher than Tatsuya had on the practical, earning the 3rd best Technical Skills score of his class. However, his instigation of the earlier altercation with several Course 2 students convinced her that the Student Council should oppose the faculty recommendation that he join the Public Morals Committee. He would be counterproductive in changing the adversarial relationship between the Course 1 and 2 students.

As Morisaki and Tatsuya lined up opposite each other on the fight area, Mari stood up to announce the rules of engagement.

"Spells which cause injuries beyond sprains are disallowed. The same goes with physical blows. I will decide if the match has ended and use force to stop it if need be."

Both participants nodded in understanding. Mayumi noted Morisaki's dismissive gaze lingering on Tatsuya, annoying her. To his credit, Tatsuya retained his usual stoic expression.

Mayumi knew that the Morisaki family (one of the Hundred Families) could use high-level skills such as "Drawless" to cast a prepared magic without actually drawing and aiming their pistol-type CADs. This gave him a clear advantage over Tatsuya in terms of casting speed, in addition to Tatsuya's already low practical ability.

Glancing at Miyuki briefly, she saw Miyuki didn't appear anxious for her brother at all. If anything, she seemed to think the battle had a foregone conclusion as well.

"I wonder what sort of abilities Tatsuya-kun has?" she thought.

Mari announced "On my mark… Begin!"

Morisaki began to apply his "Drawless" skill. In an instant Tatsuya disappeared at high speed and Morisaki collapsed to the ground, shocking everyone save for Miyuki.

"T-the winner is Tatsuya Shiba." Mari said.

"There's no way a Weed could defeat Morisaki-san! He must have deployed a Self-Acceleration spell prior to the match." Hattori was pissed.

Mari responded brusquely, "You have some nerve using that word in front of me, Hattori Gyoubushoujo Hanzou."

Miyuki glared at him "That's ridiculous Hattori-senai. Did you see Onii-san cast such a spell? Was his body moving beyond normal speeds beforehand?"

"B-but he must have cheated somehow. You saw his speed, there's no way a We- Course 2 student could win so quickly otherwise!"

Mayumi was intrigued herself. "Ta-kun, how did you manage that? And why was Morisaki-san knocked out?"

"The speed was purely physical, an application of ninjutsu training. I am a student of Yakumo Kokonoe after all."

Everyone was surprised at his statement, especially Mari. Yakumo Kokonoe is considered an authority on Ancient Magic the world over and is one of the strongest combat magicians around.

Rin brought up the second matter. "But how did Morisaki end up like this? Was that also a ninjutsu technique?"

Mayumi piped up "It only looked like he emitted Psion waves to me."

"You're right Mayumi, I only release Psion waves. Morisaki was wasted."

"Ah, compound waves via Loop Casting right? The interaction with unexpected Psion waves caused a response akin to violent sea sickness." At his confirmation, she continued, "Still, Loop Casting is designed to allow continuous invocations of the same spell, that shouldn't have rendered him unconscious..."

Rin's eyes widened in realization. "Unless you defined the number of vibrations, their strength and duration as variables for the Loop Cast system and set all the waves to hit converge at Morisaki's location… If you're calculation speed is so high how can your practical score have been so low?"

Giving a wry smile that Mayumi was beginning to find funny, he responded "Multi-variable calculations are not scored on the practical exams. Magic Power is internationally determined by Interference Strength, invocation speed and the scale of the Magic Sequence. By those standards I am quite weak. However, that doesn't entail that I would be helpless against the Basic Single System Movement-Type Magic Morisaki was about to use."

Mari and Mayumi's eyes both widened slightly. Mayumi began to suspect that Tatsuya wasn't just guessing when he stated that the brown-haired girl was casting a Flash spell the day prior.

"It's looks like A-chan was right. You are phenomenal in your own way." Mayumi was happily surprised by the turn of events. She felt a scary aura coming from Miyuki for a moment before everyone's attention was drawn by the sound of Morisaki standing shakily.

Before anyone could help him, he stormed out of the room while muttering "I lost… and to a damn Weed… how did he know what spell I was casting?"

Miyuki looked at Hattori pointedly. "Don't think I've forgotten the disrespect you payed Onii-san. You'd best apologize now or face him in a simulated battle yourself."

"H-hai Shiba-san." He turned toward Tatsuya, inclined his head ever so slightly and muttered an apology. Tatsuya inclined his head in return after which Hattori slipped out the room in embarrassment.

"U-um, Shiba-san? That CAD is a Silver Horn, right?" He nodded in response.

Mayumi turned to Azusa.

"Silver Horn? You mean the customized CADs produced by the renowned magic engineer, Taurus Silver?" Mayumi was surprised Tatsuya had such a device, much less the second one in his briefcase.

"That's the one! A cutting edge product produced by Mr. Silver of Four-Leaves Technology!" Azusa was in awe of the device. It was unsurprising since she is an aspiring Magic Engineer herself.

"How did you get them Shiba-san? And are those customized Silver Horns? They don't look like the standard models. Did you get to meet Taurus Silver himself?!" Azusa had a starstruck expression; she could keep up this routine all day, especially if Tatsuya actually saw Silver. Even Tatsuya would be no match for her Fangirling Technique.

"A-chan, let's not scare away Ta-kun. He's rather shy after all." Tatsuya stared at Mayumi with a face that said "Really?", to which she just winked, causing a small bead of sweat to appear on his face.

"Alright, we've spent enough time dilly-dallying here. We should leave for the day", Mari announced. After the Shiba siblings left, Mari walked with Mayumi and Azusa out of the battle simulation room.

* * *

"This was a pleasant surprise. At least now we know who will and won't make good additions to the Public Morals Committee." Mari said with a wide grin.

"You noticed too, huh?"

Nodding her head, she continued "Unless I'm mistaken, I'm confident Tatsuya can read the Activation Sequence of a spell in an instant. It seems impossible, but Morisaki himself confirmed the accuracy of Tatsuya's statement."

Mayumi raised her hand to her mouth and said teasingly, "You plan on using Ta-kun as intimidation don't you? Troublemakers are sure to be more cautious when they realize he can accurately report the spells they use."

"Hey, it'll make my job easier. And since Course 2 students aren't restricted from joining the Public Morals Committee, maybe he can help ease tensions there as well", she said with a shrug.

Mayumi turned to Azusa. "You seemed pretty surprised Ta-kun had those Silver Horns, A-chan."

"Well yeah, they're supposed to be custom built by Taurus Silver personally. And add in the hefty fee, the special procedure one has to undergo at FLT and the long waiting list… anyone would be shocked to see those CADs. I really wonder if Shiba-san got to meet the man himself?" Azusa almost looked like she would hunt down Tatsuya to learn the truth if they didn't change the subject.

"Now that we know Morisaki is a bust for the PMC, I have an alternate candidate in mind." Mari was thinking the same thing as Mayumi.

"Oh, who is it?"

"Shizuku Kitayama" she said with a sly smile.

* * *

 **(A/N):** Phew. Glad I finally got this out. I didn't plan on a week between the first 2 chapters, but life just gets in the way sometimes, ya know? And speaking of life, I didn't have time to get this checked over for feedback and suggestions by my previous help. I'm expecting to be really busy this weekend (9/23-9/24) and I really just wanted to get this out. So I apologize for any and spelling, grammar and consistency errors.

Still, it ended up exactly where in the story I intended and at about the length I wanted (around 4500 words I believe). In canon Mahouka ( **SPOILERS** for anime-only viewers), Shizuku joins the Public Morals Committee in their 2nd year after Tatsuya takes a position in the Student Council. I felt she would have been a better fit than Shun Morisaki. Morisaki (like his many in his family) has been a bodyguard, but he lacked the proper temperament to join the PMC at the beginning of the story imo. Knowing how to diffuse a situation is also a needed skill. Shizuku is just a better character and stronger magician than crusty-ass Morisaki, LMAO.

I hope you enjoyed this. Thanks to **Neb (aka YbKWzNEB)** of the Mahouka Wiki Discord for the idea of Mayumi's nickname for Tatsuya. Review it and tell if you think I need to improve in some areas. I'm sure there are plenty of such areas. There was a fair bit of exposition and technical stuff about magic this chapter. I don't know how much other people like that in their Mahouka fanfics. 😅

And if you enjoyed it, you can tell me that too. It does make it easier to write if I know some people are enjoying it. And I thank those who gave me positive and constructive feedback on Chapter 1. Have a good day/night!


	3. Chapter 3: Recruit

**(A/N):** Changes between the events, characters and world mechanics in this fic from the canon are largely intentional. Otherwise, I try to keep things working the same as they do in canon Mahouka.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Recruit**

Shizuku's presence was requested by the Student Council during the lunch period. As she drew closer to their office, she noticed the older Shiba sibling was headed in the same direction bearing his typical, neutral expression.

"Ah, Tatsuya-kun. What brings you to the Student Council?" Tatsuya seemed impressed with her equally expressionless face.

"I was told the Public Morals Committee Chairwoman wished to speak with me." Shizuku had rarely seen anyone who could match her stoicism.

"Interesting, I was informed of the same. I wonder what this is about?"

"No idea, but it will probably be troublesome." For a moment his brow furrowed before returning to it's normal state.

Shizuku knocked on the door. "Pardon us. It's Shizuku Kitayama."

"Tatsuya Shiba."

The two inclined their heads with their greetings.

"Shizuku-chan, Tatsuya-kun. Thanks for coming!" Mari welcomed them kindly. "I'm surprised Miyuki isn't with you Tatsuya."

Though Mari was clearly teasing, Shizuku was interested in his response as well. Tatsuya and Miyuki seemed inseparable outside of class.

"Miyuki wanted to come, but I convinced her she should get to know our friends better."

Despite the lack of hesitation as he spoke, Shizuku couldn't help but doubt Tatsuya's words. She put that suspicion aside for the moment.

"Mari, maybe we should get down to business so Shizuku-chan and Ta-kun can get back to their friends?" Mayumi proposed in her cheery voice. One of Tatsuya's eyebrows twitched at Mayumi's words.

"Ta-kun?" Shizuku wondered. "The President seems pretty relaxed with Tatsuya", she thought.

Mari nodded her head in agreement with Mayumi's suggestion. "I called the two of you here because I'd like invite both of you to join the Public Morals Committee."

Shizuku's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Turning her head to see Tatsuya's reaction, his eyes narrowed a bit in annoyance… or so Shizuku thought. It was hard to tell with Tatsuya's expressions.

"So that's why Tatsuya didn't want Miyuki to come along. He must have suspected this invitation and Miyuki would definitely have 'convinced' him to accept…"

Shizuku responded to Mari after a brief pause. "So Course 2 students are allowed to join the Public Morals Committee?"

Mari nodded her head. "Unlike the Student Council, the PMC is an honorary council and thus isn't bound by all the same regulations. It's main function is to keep order among the student body, look for shady behavior and break up fights. That sort of thing."

Tatsuya finally spoke up. "Chairwoman, members of the committee are to step in even when magic is used, correct?"

"Of course."

"Then surely my being a Course 2 student makes that a problem for me. My practical ability with magic is quite low, I would be more of a hindrance in stopping fights where magic is required!"

In Shizuku's opinion, Tatsuya's response was a bit desperate. Although she had not seen it herself, news of Tatsuya's defeat of Morisaki Shun the previous day had already spread across campus. If he could so easily take down someone as skilled as Morisaki, he must have a level of practical abilities sufficient for the position Mari offered.

"Tatsuya, don't belittle me. We saw your battle simulation with Morisaki-san yesterday." Mari briefly glanced at Mayumi and winked. "We know you're not some helpless nobody when it comes to tests of strength."

In the face of her superior reasoning, Tatsuya sighed and seemed to consider Mari's proposition.

"What about you, Shizuku-chan?"

"I graciously accept your invitation, Chairwoman." Shizuku was interested in learning more about Tatsuya, especially since Honoka was crushing on him.

"Excellent! And you Tatsuya-kun?" Mari smirked at Tatsuya with a raised eyebrow. "If you join the Public Morals Committee you'll be able to be around Miyuki more often. As a member of the Student Council she will often be working in this room."

"I humbly accept your invitation, Mari-senpai" he said stiffly after pausing for a moment.

As Mari stood up to leave the Student Council room, she said teasingly "Don't look so down about it Tatsuya. You'll get to be around Mayumi more often as well."

"M-Mari stop that!" The President seemed mortified at her friend's statement. A bead of sweat appeared on Tatsuya's forehead at Mari's declaration.

"President-"

"It's Mayumi, Ta-kun." Her eyes narrowed at him.

"You get your name back when I get mine." He challenged her with his commanding gaze. Mayumi met that challenge with hard stare of her own.

Interrupting their catfighting, Mari stated "Anyway, meet me after school in the PMC HQ and I will go over your duties as members. You will start your first patrol tomorrow, as Recruitment Week is upon us."

"Yes Chairwoman", Shizuku and Tatsuya both responded. They then made their way out now the room.

Shizuku wasn't entirely sure why she accepted. She had as much interest in joining as Tatsuya seemed to have, which is to say none at all. However she found Tatsuya to be an interesting character.

Like her, Tatsuya wasn't from a prominent family of magicians. Yet he managed to distinguish himself at a prestigious school like First High, which boasted numerous descendants from the Hundred Families, the 18 Assistant Houses and even a few from the 10 Master Clans. Granted _his_ talents didn't lay in superb spellcasting, but he found his own way to excel. Taking the top spot in all the theory exams was incredible.

Not to mention, she found the dynamic between he and the Student Council President to be intriguing. She feared, however, that she might have to break the news to Honoka.

"I hope she won't be too upset if what I suspect is true…"

* * *

 **(After School, Public Morals Committee HQ)**

While Miyuki was attending to her duties as a member of the Student Council, Tatsuya was heading to the Public Morals Committee headquarters with Shizuku.

To say Tatsuya found Shizuku impressive was an understatement. She excelled on her exams; only his sister beat Shizuku's overall score. And her ability to control her emotions and prevent childish outbursts was no mean feat at their age.

"Maybe Miya should have simply had Shizuku train me in this regard…" he thought jokingly.

Arriving at the headquarters, he announced their presence to which the Chairwoman - Mari Watanabe - welcomed them into the very messy room.

After explaining their responsibilities as members of the Committee, Tatsuya finally had to make a request of Mari. He was irritated the moment he saw the state of their headquarters.

"Mari-senpai, could I clean this room? As an aspiring Magic Engineer, I find such a cluttered environment unbearable."

The room was practically trashed. Garbage was strewn about, dust covered most of the shelves and various papers had been tossed around the room in no particular arrangement.

Mari lifted an eyebrow. "By all means, but given the level of your combat skills I'm surprised you're set on magic engineering."

Shizuku nodded, saying in her monotone voice "If you can already beat someone like Morisaki-san, I would have thought you'd interested in enlisting in the military."

"Given my low technical skills, I couldn't hope for more than a rank-C license. Besides, Magic Engineering is my passion; I'd take it over the military any day." He noticed he was speaking more excitedly than usual, so he calmed himself lest he reveal too much.

He believed the two girls were upstanding enough individuals. But that didn't mean he was interested in telling them his life story, even if he were allowed to do so.

As the 3 students cleaned the room, Tatsuya was congratulated by a couple of Course 1 students who entered the room. Though shocked by a Course 2 student being invited to the Committee, Mari's statement that he beat one of the top Course 1 Freshman in mere seconds changed their perception of him for the better.

* * *

 **(Shiba Residence, later that evening)**

"Tatsuya-kun, Miyuki tells me you've joined the Public Morals Committee. Nice going!" Honami smiled at Tatsuya as he blushed slightly.

"They wouldn't take no for an answer. I couldn't find a plausible excuse to deny their invitation."

Honami knew Tatsuya saw joining clubs and committees as distractions from his chief goal, but Honami was glad he relented. She wanted to see him live his life as normally as he could, to accept the praise he earned and to make friends.

Because the Yotsuba valued magic ability over all else, Tatsuya's accomplishments never mattered and were never praised. He quickly developed an inferiority complex about anything he did. His grades were uniformly excellent, he mastered close and long range combat, and he even developed the groundbreaking Loop Cast system for CADs as _Taurus Silver_.

However, he required the artificial Magic Calculation Area Miya installed in him in order to cast Systematic Magic. Such an artificial processor was quite inferior to a natural one, leading to his poor ability with magic in general. This led to him being rejected as defective by most of his family.

Even with Honami, his twin second cousins and now Miyuki supporting him, it was tough to change his reflexive response to downplay himself. Bad habits die hard.

While Miyuki was eating her food, Honami snapped her fingers and pointed at Tatsuya. "You only agreed so you could stay near Miyuki, didn't you?"

Miyuki looked at Tatsuya with a surprised look. Smiling wryly, Tatsuya answered in a falsely humble tone "You read me like a book, Honami-san."

"Onii-san, y-you didn't have to go through all that trouble for me…"

"Yes I did Miyuki. Protecting you is my number one objective." Tatsuya responded quickly and robotically. "This also gives me an excuse to be around you more often."

"Onii-san!" Miyuki blushed and put a hand to her cheek.

Tatsuya's face became confused, causing Honami to giggle at his obliviousness.

"Besides, you were so adamant that I join the Student Council. This way you can be satisfied as well." This statement caused Honami to direct a quick glance to Miyuki.

"Make sure you're careful while on patrol, Tatsuya. I know your abilities as well as anyone, but all the same it wouldn't due to let your guard down. Someone else could get hurt, even if you can't."

Nodding, Tatsuya said "Of course. And given it's Recruitment Week there's bound to be a number troublesome incidents."

"The same goes for you, Miyuki-chan. Do your best with your Council duties."

"Right, Honami-san!"

After the two seemed to retire to their rooms, Honami began to wash the dinner dishes. They could no doubt afford an HAR (Home-Automated Robot) to do such chores, but Honami always felt compelled to do them herself. She felt more fulfilled by directly helping Tatsuya and Miyuki.

As she continued washing dishes, she wondered what sort of feelings Miyuki had for her brother. While they'd make a cute couple, the nature of their would-be romance bothered Honami greatly.

Before she could pursue that line of thought, she was startled when a voice from behind called out "Let me help you with those, Okaa-san."

"Eh! O-ok Tatsuya-kun. But don't sneak up on me like that! Yakumo-sensei has been a bad influence on you..."

Despite her rebuke, a small smile appeared on Honami's face which matched the smile on Tatsuya's. Tatsuya never referred to her as his mother when Miyuki was around as he felt it would denigrate their deceased mother. While Tatsuya was never on great terms with Miya, Miyuki had loved her mother dearly. Miyuki was close to Honami, but it was more akin to a relationship between sisters.

By the time he was 7-years old, Tatsuya had begun referring to Honami as his mother in private. She initially resisted it, but as their relationship deepened to the level of parent and child, she stopped fighting it. She even came to love hearing him say it. It felt like the one thing she had that the Yotsuba couldn't take away from her.

"So how was your day, Okaa-san". He handed her the plates he washed.

As she rinsed and put them in the dishwasher, she responded "Oh the usual. Cleaned the house, got some training in, updated the Main House on the goings on. But what about you, _Mr. Silver_?"

She turned to Tatsuya and winked. "I hear Mayumi Saegusa is the Student Council President. Is she as beautiful as they say?"

She hadn't really expected Tatsuya to respond. Because of Miya's "Mental Design Interference" magic, he wasn't a very emotional person. Women besides Miyuki never drew his attention in a noticeable way.

But the bead of sweat on his forehead and the twitch of his right eye at the mention of the Saegusa surprised her.

"Maa maa Tatsuya, could it be you have a thing for Miss Saegusa?" She playfully elbowed him in his side.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Okaa-san. You know I'm incapable of such things." His face went neutral as he cleaned the silverware. Tatsuya's stoic mask might fool many, but not her mother's intuition. That girl must unnerve him somehow.

"Riiiiight", Honami said as she wiggled her eyebrows at Tatsuya, who simply smirked in response.

"Did Oba-ue have any orders for me?" Honami allowed him to change the subject so he could save face.

"No, she has no doubt you're fulfilling your duty as Miyuki's Guardian. She was more interested in how Miyuki's schooling was going."

As Tatsuya nodded in response, Honami couldn't help but feel a bit down at just how devoted he was to that duty...

* * *

 **(Next day, on Patrol at First High)**

Though Tatsuya was still sore from his intense sparring with Yakumo that morning, he departed from the Public Morals Committee HQ to patrol the campus of First High School.

There were tents all over the school grounds, giving them a festival vibe.

As it was Recruitment Week, all of the various clubs were trying to attract new members to their ranks. First High only boasted 200 students at a time, meaning there was stiff competition over potential recruits.

Just as Tatsuya was beginning to hope his patrol would be without incident, he noticed a familiar redhead being fought over by two clubs.

"These guys are relentless…" he exhaled in a sigh.

"She wants to join our club you greedy bitch!"

"Us greedy? Puh-lease. She was trying to join our club assholes!"

As Erika was jostled back and forth between the girls fighting over her, one grabbed Erika's uniform and pulled off part of her coat in the struggle. Another had groped her, much to her shock.

"Are you people insane?" Erika yelled.

Leaping into action, Tatsuya used one of the 2 CADs he borrowed from the PMC to cast an Oscillation-type magic. By kicking the ground and then directing the amplified vibration at the crowd, he was able to knock everyone off balance. Tatsuya grabbed Erika and assisted her in retreating between two surrounding school buildings.

Looking at her, he thought "Man, they did a number on you…" Erika's jacket had been pulled off one of her arms. Her new uniform had taken a beating as well.

Then he noticed Erika was showing quite a bit of cleavage due to being pulled back and forth before.

"Turn around!" she shouted as her face blushed bright red. He quickly did as commanded.

After she fixed her disheveled appearance, Tatsuya tried to think about anything other than the body he had just seen. He succeeded… somewhat. At least he wasn't blushing.

"Tatsuya… did you see me?"

He wasn't sure if he should respond. "Lying would be the smart thing to do, yes… wait, no she knows I saw her cleavage…"

Turning around, he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. He wasn't able to say anything, which was as good as a confession.

"Y-you idiot!" She kicked his shin, which hurt a little bit.

* * *

 **(2nd Gymnasium, "The Arena")**

After cooling off, Erika knew she had been unreasonable. Tatsuya had helped her get away from those jerks outside.

Still, she wasn't above using Tatsuya's accidental impropriety to rope him into walking with her as compensation.

...

Erika could not be more bored if she tried. As they were watching the Kendo club down on the first floor of the gym, she grew more annoyed at a girl who was in a Kendo match with a boy from her club.

"You seem irritated by their match, Erika."

"Well yeah. Her skill level is much higher than than the other guy's. This is practically a rehearsal for Mibu-san."

"She can hardly fight a true martial arts match in a high school setting. This is only for recruiting new club members, so it makes sense to show off a flashier match. A true martial arts match is about killing one's opponent after all."

Despite Tatsuya's slightly grimmer expression when he spoke those words, Erika couldn't help but feel he was a bit nonchalant about the topic.

"You seem pretty calm about the prospect of killing someone."

"Or maybe I'm just not getting worked up over a smart recruitment tactic?"

She glared at Tatsuya in annoyance at his dismissive response. Before she could retort, Tatsuya's gaze grew more serious.

"Trouble?" he said.

Looking down, Erika could see a new group had taken to the floor and interrupted the Kendo club's demonstration.

"Looks like the Kenjutsu club are causing trouble", she responded.

One of the Kenjutsu club members challenged Sayaka Mibu of the Kendo club.

"Oooh, looks like we might get to see a decent match after all! Kirihara-senpai and Mibu-senpai are gonna go at it! You might have to step in after all, Tatsuya!"

"Huh?"

Erika then dragged Tatsuya off to watch the match up close on the first floor. She wasn't done exacting her payment just yet.

* * *

As the match between Mibu and Kirihara began, it soon became apparent that Mibu was the more skilled swordsperson. She didn't fall for any of the feints Kirihara attempted and deflected away all of his attacks with apparent ease.

"Kirihara's reliance on magic would naturally make him a less skilled swordsmen than Mibu who focuses solely on swordplay", he thought to himself. Magicians tended to be arrogant that those with inferior magic to them are likewise inferior in all other aspects. Kirihara clearly made this mistake with Mibu.

According to Erika Mibu placed 2nd in the National Middle School Kendo tournament two years prior, while Kirihara placed 1st in the Kanto Middle School Kenjutsu tournament that same year.

The match came to a close when both combatants went for broke. Kirihara used an overhead strike with his shinai, while Mibu went for a straight thrust with hers. Kirihara only managed to graze Mibu's left arm, while she had managed to score a solid hit to his right shoulder.

"That attack would have killed you in a real fight, while yours wouldn't have even reached bone. Just accept that you lost to the superior swordsman, Kirihara-san."

"A real fight you say, Mibu? Heh… hehehe". Kirihara began to laugh hysterically.

"I can't catch a break", Tatsuya thought annoyedly. He quickly activated the recording device members of the Public Morals Committee wear as insurance when apprehending a suspect.

Kirihara input commands on his CAD to activate his magic. A loud screech emanated, causing some people to fall to their knees, while others screamed at the use of magic.

Thanks to his "Elemental Sight" superpower, Tatsuya read the Activation Sequence of Kirihara's magic.

"Oscillation-type Magic… Sonic Blade? Is he really resorting to a B-ranked lethal spell after losing a Kendo match?" he thought.

Before Kirihara could even attempt to swing his blade at Mibu, Tatsuya appeared between the two at high speed and activated his own magic using both of the CADs he borrowed from the PMC.

By activating an interference magic ritual in one CAD and using the reverse ritual with the other CAD, Tatsuya could prevent his opponent from casting or sustaining their magic.

Tatsuya's "Specific Cast Jamming" caused Kirihara's "Sonic Blade" to fade away. The Psion waves Tatsuya produced left the Kirihara and surrounding students disoriented. Tatsuya then appeared behind Kirihara in a flash, pulled his right hand behind his shoulder, pressed on the back of his knee and forced the 2nd Year student to the ground.

With his knee pinning the stunned upperclassman to the ground, Tatsuya put on his PMC communication device. "This is Tatsuya. I've apprehended one Takeaki Kirihara for the improper use of magic. He's injured so please bring a stretcher to my location."

"Who the hell is this?"

"There's no way a Weed could be on the on the Morals Committee!" The student had spotted the PMC armband Tatsuya was wearing.

"Learn your place!"

Soon the entire Kenjutsu club began to assault Tatsuya in earnest, but he was too fast for them to keep up with. Tatsuya quickly bested them by making them interfere with each other's attempts to grab him.

Realizing Tatsuya was toying with them, the Kenjutsu club members attempted to use their CADs to cast magic.

"Hot heads, every last one of them…"

Repeated use of his "Specific Cast Jamming" prevented any of them from using magic to make the situation worse. All the while, a bespectacled member of the Kendo club watched the situation with rapt fascination.

* * *

 **(Club Headquarters, 1 hour later)**

"So you didn't see how the altercation started, Tatsuya-kun?"

"I observed a verbal dispute between Mibu-senpai and Kirihara-senpai, President." Mayumi knew now wasn't the time to react to his way of addressing her, so she settled for a brief glare.

"I didn't intend to get involved if they could settle their dispute with a Kendo match. But once Kirihara-senpai activated a spell I immediately intervened."

Mari asked interestedly "And you reported that Kirihara was the only one to cast magic,correct?"

"Yes. Kirihara-senpai was the only student to activate magic." Mayumi found his choice of words curious.

"Given that he acknowledged his error after having his injuries looked at, I judged that no further action needed to be taken."

Mari nodded. "It's a good thing you didn't get hurt, Tatsuya." Mari turned to the head of the Disciplinary Committee, Katsuto Juumonji. "We have intention to send this to the Disciplinary Committee."

"The leniency is appreciated. Given the lethal nature of the spell he used, I'll make certain Kirihara understands how close he came to expulsion if he hasn't already realized it." With that, the large man left the room.

"Alright Tatsuya, you're dismissed. Thank you for your hard work."

Inclining his head, Tatsuya left the club headquarters room.

"Am I the only one who felt Ta-kun was holding something back?" Mayumi asked her friend.

Mari seemed amused. "I don't know much but based on some rumors I heard earlier, Tatsuya is definitely leaving out some interesting information."

"Such as?"

"He appeared to cancel out Kirihara's "Sonic Blade" with an unidentified Counter Magic. A number of students were brought to their knees by some sort of Psion wave he used to disrupt the magic."

Mayumi was shocked. "Psion waves? But that's Cast Jamming isn't it? How could Tatsuya have access to antinite for such a technique?"

"Hm, none of the rumors I heard mentioned it. He only seemed to have the 2 CADs he borrowed from the Public Morals Committee."

"Wait, 2 CADs? How could he use them both without interference?" Attempting magic with 2 CADs caused the Psion waves from the CADs to interfere with each other and prevent magic activation.

Smirking, Mari said "I've no idea. I initially wondered if he was bluffing when he requested the two he borrowed." She paused for a moment. "He's an interesting addition this year indeed. You'd better not wait too long to make your move Mayumi!"

"Mariiiii, What did I ever do to deserve this?"

"Mayumi, you answer that question with your actions everyday. Besides, you've been crushing on him so hard but he hasn't cracked yet. Is the almighty Mayumi Saegusa so unused to doing the chasing?" Mari was giggling.

"Oh this is not fair Mari, not fair at all!" Mayumi cried out.

Mayumi's sprint out of the room was comical due to her small size, causing Mari to guffaw.

* * *

 **(Classroom 1-A, The Next Day)**

As she sat in class, Miyuki found herself a bit down as she thought about her brother.

"He tells me not to worry, but he was attacked by a member of Egalite earlier today..."

Miyuki knew Tatsuya could handle himself. But he had a knack for getting into trouble, especially for her sake. And direct threats to magicians such as Egalite and it's parent organization - Blanche - were exactly the kind of trouble he would get embroiled in. She wondered if he found her annoying for being so dependent on him. He always seemed to be acting for her sake while she didn't feel her contributions to him were proportional...

To escape her malaise, as soon as class ended Miyuki headed for the Student Council office and threw herself into her work.

A knock on the Student Council's door announced the presence of her brother. She was surprised that she felt so ill at ease that he showed up at that moment, given what she was thinking about.

Tatsuya hadn't yet picked up her mood, thankfully. After he removed his jacket, Azusa spotted his custom Silver Horn CADs in the holsters Tatsuya wore on his torso. Tatsuya noticed her eyeing the devices, so he allowed her to examine it thoroughly.

"Silver-sama…" she said in awe as she nearly rubbed her face on Tatsuya's CAD. **(1)**

Because Miyuki's back was turned, she misunderstood Azusa's remark as identifying her brother as Taurus Silver. The shock caused her to accidentally turn on the alarm of the workstation she was at and she turned to look at her brother.

Everyone looked at her, causing her to flush in embarrassment as she turned it off and got back to her Student Council work.

The President decided to continue to broach such a dangerous topic, much to Miyuki's annoyance.

"Ta-kun, how did you get one of the Silver Series CADs? I hear they're quite difficult to get ahold of." Her voice seemed innocent enough, but Miyuki couldn't help but find her suspicious.

"Ah, that. I'm a beta-tester, so I'm able to get them at a discount."

"Shiba-kun, did you get to meet Taurus Silver in person! What kind of person is he?!" Miyuki briefly turned her attention to the show behind her again. Azusa was only inches from Tatsuya and her face was glowing in anticipation…

"Why do all these girls get so close to Onii-san…" Miyuki hadn't lost control yet, but it would only be a matter of time at this rate. Not to mention, Azusa's question was particularly troublesome for Tatsuya to answer.

"Heh, I'm not that well connected at FLT to know something like that. FLT keeps most of its corporate secrets hidden away."

"A-chan, don't go thinking about using Mental Interference Magic to get information out of Ta-kun. You know it's illegal~" Though the President's face looked kind, there was an edge to her voice at seeing Azusa so close to Tatsuya.

"Not her too", Miyuki thought in frustration.

Before Miyuki lost control and froze everyone, Tatsuya stepped away from Azusa and patted Miyuki on the head.

"Oi oi, don't lose your head over here, Miyuki. Azusa-senpai was just excited."

"President, Shiba-kun, I'm soooory!" She bowed repeatedly in embarrassment for going "Device-taku" on Tatsuya.

Soon Azusa realized she hadn't done her schoolwork because she pestered Tatsuya for so long, Mayumi helped her. While the upperclasswomen were discussing the "Three Great Puzzles of Weight Systemic Magic", Tatsuya joined the conversation to clear up Azusa's confusion about why Generalized Flying-Type magic hadn't been made real yet.

Miyuki was just glad things had cooled down before she had lost her cool…

And then Mari lobbed a bomb at her brother.

* * *

"Tatsuya, is it true you verbally harassed the Second Year, Sayaka Mibu?"

"Harassed? What a vulgar word… That isn't true in the slightest."

Miyuki sighed in relief; Mibu was regarded as a very beautiful girl by the student body. Even Tatsuya had to admit she was rather good looking.

"Then what did happen?" Mari asked curiously.

"Mibu-senpai wished for me to join the Kendo club and she asked for my assistance in changing the plight of Course 2 students. I wasn't interested in helping with either, so I declined."

"How exactly did she intend to change the situation for Course 2 students?" Mayumi asked.

"That's part of the problem. She and her compatriots don't appear to know what exactly they wanted the school to change. My suggestion was to demand more teachers so Course 2 students could have them if they really wanted to better their education. However, she didn't appear to want to ask for such a thing."

Mari seemed contemplative.

Tatsuya spoke up again. "It was strange though…"

"Eh?" Mari broke from her inner thoughts.

"I was just saying that it was strange. Something seemed off about Mibu-senpai."

"Like what, Ta-kun?"

"Well, it's not anything I can prove but she seemed quite obsessive about her goal but had given almost no thought in how to attain it. Her gaze grew very intense and angry when discussing it, to the point where she seemed to forget I was present for a moment…"

"And?"

"They seemed like the symptoms of those who have been mentally manipulated by magic."

Everyone present was shocked by Tatsuya's speculation. As users of Mental Interference Magic, Miyuki and Azusa silently agreed that the symptoms Tatsuya described were the classic signs of such manipulation. However, it could also be accomplished by Consciousness-Interference type magic.

Mari became very serious. "Are you suggesting someone is brainwashing the Course 2 students by taking advantage of the animosity between them and the Course 1 students?"

"As I said, those symptoms don't constitute proof alone. I would simply suggest that there are active organizations who would employ such tactics for their own ends. Perhaps one such as the anti-magic International Political Organization, Blanche?"

Mari and Mayumi were again stunned.

"Tatsuya-kun, how do you know about Blanche?!"

"Eh, it's not classified information. There's no way to censor all the information about such a group. Honestly, there's quite a bit of discussions about them online. And besides, nothing good can come from simply ignoring and hiding their existence."

Mayumi seemed to be a bit hurt from Tatsuya's statement, taking it as criticism of her.

Speaking quickly, "I wasn't criticizing you Mayumi. I'm just of the opinion that the government has handled this situation poorly, allowing such groups to fester and recruit those dissatisfied with the current state of society under the guise of eliminating discrimination by magic."

Mayumi smiled at Tatsuya appreciatively and placed her hand on his. "Thanks Ta-kun~."

"My my Tatsuya, you're quite the lady-killer. First you break Mayumi down and then you build her back up. Be sure to take good care of Mayumi, got that?" Mari was on a roll today; Tatsuya wasn't sure he liked Mari anymore.

Mayumi blushed at this remark and removed her hand quickly. Tatsuya's back stiffened and he glanced at Miyuki nervously.

And sure enough…

"Lady-killer… taking care of Mayumi-senpai…" she whispered darkly.

Suddenly Tatsuya's lunch began to freeze due Miyuki accidentally casting an Oscillation-type magic which freezes objects by greatly reducing their motion. It could be considered a smaller scale version of the magic "Niflheim".

"Oi oi, Miyuki she's just joking around! Get control of yourself!" he said in a slight panic.

Miyuki flushed in embarrassment. Tatsuya looked down at his ruined lunch. He was still pretty hungry. He was mildly annoyed, but he was unable to tell Miyuki that.

"To accidentally cast magic… Miyuki-chan your Interference Strength must be enormous."

Though she said that cheerfully, Mayumi had a bead of sweat of her forehead. She seemed afraid Miyuki might direct her magical talents at her if she got close to Tatsuya in her presence again.

Everyone ate a quiet lunch after that.

* * *

 **(Kyuuchouji Temple, Evening)**

Although Miyuki was annoyed by the antics in the Student Council office, she had gotten her revenge by roping Tatsuya into joining the Technician Team for the 9 Schools Competition. He had blown everyone away with a display of his engineering talents.

As she watched her brother's intense sparring match with Yakumo, she wondered if she had gone too far with her payback. Tatsuya never sought the praise of others, so that aspect of the 9 Schools Competition didn't entice him. Yet that was exactly the reason Miyuki wanted him to participate; he deserved accolades for his achievements for once in his life.

Even still, she couldn't help but think she was going against a recent talk she had with Honami…

 _(Flashback)_

"Miyuki-chan."

"Yes Honami-san?"

"I need to ask you something important, but I need you to really take to heart what I'm asking you."

"O-ok Honami-san."

"Tatsuya said you tried to get him a spot on the Student Council. Is that right?"

Nodding, Miyuki said "Of course. He's far more deserving of it than I am."

Honami sighed nervously. "I know you mean well Miyuki, but you've got try not to do such things in the future."

"Huh, why not?" Miyuki was perplexed. How could Honami of all people not want Tatsuya to be recognized…

"You have to know that I mean no disrespect when I say this Miyuki-chan. But Tatsuya has to grow up."

Miyuki was shocked. Tatsuya was about as mature as could be at his age.

Putting some heat into her voice, Miyuki responded "What are you talking about? Onii-san is very mature. What does any of this have to do with me trying to help him?"

Honami calmed herself down before responding. "Miyuki, did you stop to consider whether or not Tatsuya _wanted_ to join the Student Council?"

Miyuki swallowed her tongue. She hadn't considered that at all. Tatsuya normally went along with whatever she said. She didn't see why he would be opposed to being with her on the Council if possible.

"Why don't you think Onii-san would want to join the Student Council?" she asked nervously.

"I've been close to Tatsuya for awhile, so I have a good understanding of how his mind works and what he wants…"

Honami was hesitating.

"Please go on, Honami."

"As you know, your mother's Mental Interference Magic eliminated Tatsuya's ability to have strong emotions."

Miyuki nodded sadly. It had bothered her when she started growing closer to Tatsuya. She wasn't sure how much of his behavior was just an act for her benefit and how much was honest.

"Well, that's not quite true." Miyuki looked up in shock, so Honami continued. "I've noticed for many years now that Tatsuya's stronger emotions genuinely come out at times."

Miyuki knew Honami was right. Because of the Mental Interference Magic that the Yotsuba added to suppress Tatsuya's power, Miyuki had an intuitive feel for her brother's emotional state.

She noticed that occasionally she would feel such genuine emotions through their connection when she was with him. Oftentimes it happened when she wasn't around though. In fact, she had felt such emotions from her brother earlier when she heard Honami doing the dishes.

"When do they resurface?"

Honami blushed slightly as she said "Whenever he and I are together…"

"Wh-what!" Miyuki's mind conjured up quite the wrong image in response.

"Not like that, Miyuki!" Honami was pretty flustered by the insinuation. "I just meant... because Tatsuya was never close to Miya-sama, we've been very close for about a decade. I noticed he seemed more open around me over time."

Miyuki was quite jealous, but she knew she had no business complaining. She was ashamed of her previously dismissive treatment of her brother. Honami never subjected him to that so it was natural that they were so close.

"What's all this have to do with me trying to get Onii-san into the Student Council? Even if he doesn't wish to join, I only want the best for my brother. Surely that isn't a bad thing?"

"In essence Miyuki, you're not letting Tatsuya grow up. Tatsuya doesn't want adoration because they don't further his goals and it's not the kind of person he is. You know Tatsuya is compelled to do what he feels is best for you. Your mother's magic made sure that took priority over everything in his mind. If you're always enforcing your will onto Tatsuya - even accidentally - he will probably never become whole again."

Honami's face fell at the possibility of that occurring. "He needs those of us around him to care for him like the family we are. But we also need to give him some room to grow into the kind of person he wants to be, the kind he chooses with his own will. That's why I was so excited that the two of you were attending First High. It gives Tatsuya the chance to have part of his life under his control for the first time. He knows even better than me what it's like to have every facet of yourself controlled by another." Honami sounded quite bitter as she finished.

 _(End Flashback)_

Still, Miyuki couldn't help but get Tatsuya to join the 9 Schools Competition. It was the best opportunity for everyone to see just how capable her brother was. And better yet, he would be doing what he loved best by tuning some of the team CADs.

After Yakumo defeated Tatsuya in their spar, Miyuki requested Yakumo help her train for the Mirage Bat competition.

Even as she trained intensely using Yakumo's Ancient Magic "Will o' Wisp", she couldn't shake the feeling that she was conveniently ignoring Honami's plea.

* * *

 **1) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

 **(A/N):** Wow, this took awhile of get out, another week. Sorry about that, I wish life was simpler. :-( As compensation, this chapter is a bit longer (around 6000 words).

I admit, I'm not sure how well I did with this chapter. I feel like I skipped around a lot. Some parts were, as I say at the top, purposefully different from the canon. Partly, I'm trying to streamline some things so this fic isn't ungodly long. Another part is I'm trying to make some things make better sense than in canon Mahouka. Like in canon, Tatsuya (for no reason) suggests that Taurus Silver might be a Japanese youth. That makes no sense if he's trying to keep it secret. He just randomly says it and it's weird. I was also purposefully terse on some details and events. Again I'm sorry. I just don't want to reiterate _everything_. ;)

Anyway, I hope someone enjoyed this chapter, even if I'm not sure about it myself. Please write me a review. I feel better knowing actual people read them them and were interested enough to review it. Positive reviews and constructive reviews are a big help. Thanks for reading~


	4. Chapter 4: Blanched

**(A/N):** Changes between the events, characters and world mechanics in this fic from the canon are largely intentional. Otherwise, I try to keep things working the same as they do in canon Mahouka.

* * *

Chapter 4: **Blanched**

Tatsuya wasn't having a great week. Because the week started off with an upperclassman attempting to use a lethal rank-B spell, Tatsuya assumed it couldn't get any worse.

Naturally, as soon as one asks "How can it get any worse?" fate decides to show you. As the week progressed, Tatsuya found himself being attacked by unknown assailants who would cast a minor spell at him and then retreat into crowds of other students before he could identify them.

Initially he assumed they were just disgruntled members of the Kenjutsu club. However as he began to arrest some of them, Tatsuya soon discovered they were Course 1 students unaffiliated with the Kenjutsu club.

After defeating one of the top combatants among the Course 1 students, Tatsuya faced near constant retaliation from them. While he was on patrol, Course 1 students would cause some sort of commotion that Tatsuya had to intervene in due to his position on the Public Morals Committee. While he was dealing with whatever issue was occurring, someone would "misfire" magic at Tatsuya to varying degrees of success.

He quickly realized he had a target on his back, but he didn't realize how far the collusion had spread until it had taken its toll. He was becoming frustrated by the end of the week.

"Tatsuya-kun, are you OK?"

Tatsuya had been massaging the bridge of his nose when Erika asked her question.

Turning towards her desk, he responded "Just a bit annoyed, no need to worry."

"Are those guys still randomly using magic on you?" Erika seemed ready to retaliate on the Course 1 students herself.

"I'll be fine. Starting today students won't be allowed to have their CADs on their person during school hours." Tatsuya sighed as if to say "Finally."

Leo seemed to be stifling his laughter. "Well Tatsuya, you could have avoided all this if you had rejected their offer to join the Morals Committee."

"Don't remind me…" He suppressed the desire to sigh again.

Having befriended him the previous day during football*, Mikihiko Yoshida spoke up. "Tatsuya, I heard you were accepted onto the technician team for the Nine Schools Competition. Nicely done." Given Mikihiko had himself scored the 3rd highest in the theory portion of the entrance exams, it was natural for him to praise others who had a wealth of knowledge about magic.

"Yeah. Miyuki roped me into it and Mayumi thought it was a great idea so I couldn't get out of it." Tatsuya's right eye twitched for a moment. While he wasn't opposed to helping First High win, he felt it was a distraction given how close he was to making a huge step in favor of his goal. Generalized Flying-Type Magic was nearly within his grasp...

Erika misunderstood his reaction and smiled mischievously. "Is that so Tatsuya? It seems like you can never refuse when _she_ asks you to do something."

Erika did not specify who "she" was and Tatsuya didn't bother to ask. It would only encourage her. Tatsuya's composed expression and lack of response seemed to irritate Erika, so she didn't press onward.

"I always knew this expression would save me a lot of headaches", Tatsuya thought amusedly.

As class progressed, a voice suddenly began to blare over the PA system startling everyone in Class 1-E.

"Attention students! We are a group which seeks to rectify the discrimination suffered by the Course 2 students at First High!"

Leo was agitated and shouted at the loudspeakers, "Oi, don't you guys realize the volume is already loud? Stop yelling!"

"Yelling in response only makes you more annoying, Leo."

Mizuki got between their lover's quarrel before it escalated. "This isn't the time you two."

Suddenly, the voice on the PA system returned (now at the proper volume). "Our group is demanding the Club Management and the Student Council negotiate with us to address our grievances."

Turning toward Tatsuya, Mizuki said "Looks like you have business elsewhere, Tatsuya."

Giving his trademark sigh, he responded "Indeed. If they have the PA system they must have taken over the Public Announcement Room."

As Tatsuya left classroom 1-E, he couldn't shake the feeling that this situation would escalate to more troublesome levels.

* * *

 **(Train Station, Next Day)**

As Mayumi was waiting at the train to take to school, she was surprised when a familiar voice roused her from her thoughts.

"Good morning, President."

Turning towards the speaker, she saw his periwinkle-blue eyes were watching her in amusement while the beautiful maiden next to him seemed annoyed at his behavior.

"Eh?! Ta-kun don't scare me like that," she pouted.

Shrugging, he cut right to the chase and asked her "Mayumi, what happened with the situation regarding Mibu-senpai and her cohorts?"

The previous day, Mibu and and her compatriots had been removed from the PA Room after Tatsuya managed to trick them in leaving the room. After they exited, they were about to be arrested until Mayumi decided to handle it a different way.

Mayumi responded "You'd find out later anyway, but we settled on having a public forum tomorrow after school. It was as you said, Ta-kun. They didn't have any real proposals on how to improve the treatment of the Course 2 students."

Miyuki spoke up, saying "Tomorrow? How soon. Even if it leaves them with little time to prepare, won't your side face the same problem?"

"Well there's not much of a 'side' for me. I will be the only one from the Student Council debating them at the forum." She smiled at the surprise the siblings showed at her revelation.

"Don't worry you two. Being alone gives me the advantage of having a unified message."

Tatsuya saw the wisdom in her words. "In other words, you aren't at a disadvantage when debating the merits of their proposals."

Mayumi nodded her head. "And if they truly have the better argument, we'll just have to make strides to use them to better the school."

* * *

(School Auditorium, Next Day after school)

"Course 2 students are treated as inferior in every way! For starters, the budget allocation clearly favors clubs with more Course 1 students. If the current student administration is truly interested in equality, they will surely seek to address this blatant favoritism."

The speaker walked away from the podium. The auditorium in which the public forum was taking place was packed with students from both Courses.

Mayumi didn't find the assertion to be sensible; it was easily refuted if one knew the activities of the various clubs.

After taking to the podium, she responded "That is misconception. The clubs which receive greater funding do so because of their accomplishments and the number of their members. But this isn't restricted to clubs with more Course 1 students, this also applies to clubs not based around magic. The football* club for example has reached nationals so they too are allocated more than some of the other clubs."

Mayumi began to use this opportunity to explain her vision for overcoming the antagonism between the Course 1 and 2 students. Notably, her intention to remove the regulation prohibiting Course 2 students from joining the Student Council at the end of her term as Council President. Her evident desire to change things won over most of the audience, who proceeded to give her a standing ovation.

Before Mayumi could say anything else, suddenly several windows of the auditorium were broken by canisters. As soon as the canisters hit the ground they began to release copious amounts of gas.

"Probably sleeping gas," Mayumi thought. Luckily, Hattori managed to neutralize the gases by converging them all into sphere.

Tatsuya and Mari had, along with the rest of the Morals Committee, managed to apprehend the students they noticed wearing Egalite bracelets. The students appeared to expect the attack, leading to them standing out amongst the rest of the panicked student body.

When several armed individuals stormed the room, they were surprised to see their sneak attack failed to thin the student numbers. Tatsuya disappeared in in a flash and took out 3 of the out from behind with punches to the head, while Mari did similarly for the remaining 2 terrorists. Before anyone could catch their breath, suddenly several explosions shook the room; luckily the auditorium was not the target of the bombs.

Tatsuya spoke up authoritatively. "I'm going to head off the terrorists at the Practical Skills Building!"

"I'm coming too, Onii-san!"

As they quickly ran out of the auditorium, Mayumi couldn't help but shout, "Be careful Tatsuya-kun!"

Mari was rubbing her chin as she said "How did he know what their target was?" Mayumi had no answer, but she had more pressing matters to attend to keeping the students calm and bringing in the appropriate assistance.

* * *

 **(First High Infirmary, Later that evening)**

Having thwarted the attack on First High by Blanche in their attempt to access restricted magic research, Miyuki was currently watching the Second Year Course 2 student bawl her tears out on her brother's school uniform.

Miyuki was more than a little irritated at the sight, given Tatsuya did nothing to stop the girl. Sayaka Mibu was distraught at having helped Blanche for no reason, given her misunderstanding of a prior interaction was Mari.

As Sayaka finished, Tatsuya spoke up. "Mari-senpai, Mayumi, I believe my earlier assessment was correct."

The eyes of the 2 in question widened.

"You mean-"

"They didn't…"

"I've no doubt that they implanted false memories into Mibu-senpai. Most likely using some sort of Consciousness-Interference type magic."

Miyuki knew her brother would know exactly what magic was used to alter Sayaka's memories. But he was careful not to let himself appear too knowledgeable lest his abilities be discovered.

Sayaka was shocked at this revelation. "W-what?! Those bastards…" She began gritting her teeth in anger.

Katsuto Juumonji had taken a contemplative expression when suddenly Tatsuya began to walk towards the door with anger etched on his face.

"Where are you going Onii-san?" Miyuki said.

"I intend to destroy Blanche."

Juumonji looked amused at Tatsuya's declaration. Miyuki instantly disliked him, as if he knew what her brother could do…

"Tatsuya, we aren't authorizing this. I'm not letting students put their lives on the line to do the work the police should handle."

Undeterred, Tatsuya responded "I never intended to ask for assistance from Club Activities nor from the Morals Committee. I'm going to handle this alone. That is, unless you _really_ want the police to get involved?" At that word, Tatsuya glanced pointedly at Sayaka.

Juumonji understood involving the police would have severe repercussions for the students involved, especially since it would be difficult to substantiate the claim that they had been manipulated by magic.

Mayumi jumped in, saying "But Ta-kun, how would you even find where Blanche are located? They didn't exactly leave a forwarding address." Miyuki nodded in agreement.

Smiling, Tatsuya simply walked up to the door and opened it. Behind it was Haruka Ono, one of the school counselors… Except she was wearing some sort of pantsuit.

Her Onii-san didn't let her down though. Haruka's outfit had no effect on Tatsuya's behavior.

"I was foolish to think I could sneak up Yakumo-sensei's favorite student…" She was rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

After Ono-sensei gave her brother the location of Blanche's hideout, Miyuki volunteered to go with her brother.

"Absolutely not Miyuki. I can't put you in undue danger." His voice was almost panicked.

"Allow me? Onii-san you aren't the boss of me," she huffed. "I _will_ be going with you."

Tatsuya's back stiffened, and he responded in a forced voice. "Of course, Miyuki."

Mari couldn't help but chuckle at the interaction. "She's got you whipped Tatsuya. It's too bad your siblings," she teased.

Miyuki blushed, thinking about her confused but no-so-innocent thoughts about her brother.

Katsuto also stated that he would go, given his duty as a member of three 10 Master Clans and a student of First High. When Mayumi volunteered, Katsuto attempted to stop her.

"Mayumi, there's no need for you to go. This sort of operation is more suited for someone with my abilities." His voice was firm and brokered no compromises.

Mayumi was steadfast though. Placing her hands on her hips and leaning towards him, she said "I'm just as much part of the 10 Master Clans as you, Juumonji-san. I'm capable of defending myself. If Miyuki-chan is allowed to go there's no reason I can't!"

Katsuto's iron will was faltering at Mayumi's reasoning. "Besides, Mari can stay here to maintain order on campus until we return."

Mari looked over annoyedly. Miyuki figured she enjoyed beating up some terrorists as much as the next girl...

After Katsuto had acquired a military vehicle for their makeshift assault team to use, their group was joined by Mayumi's bodyguard Nakura. Second Year Takeaki Kirihara attempted to join them as well, but Katsuto refused him.

"Kirihara, fighting some terrorists for Mibu isn't going to make her forgive you. After all, you attempted to use a lethal spell against her after losing a Kendo match." Katsuto's tone was firm. This time he would not give in.

Making his way back to the vehicle, Miyuki heard Katsuto say "Kirihara, if you want Mibu's forgiveness, you have to change yourself. Become a better man, one who has a mature reaction to unforeseen losses. One who isn't clouded by his own sense of superiority. Meaningless bravado will only get you so far."

As they began to drive to the destination Ono-sensei had shown them on the map program, Miyuki couldn't help but notice the way Mayumi snuggled up against Tatsuya.

"These women…" she thought. Only luck saved the occupants of the vehicle from experiencing an icy Hell.

"I'll go with Ta-kun~" Mayumi said in a nearby squeal.

Tatsuya had a bead of sweat at that declaration.

Miyuki was gritting her teeth as she said in an irritated voice, " _I_ will go with Onii-san. Juumonji-senpai can accompany you Mayumi-senpai."

Personally, Tatsuya was more comfortable with Miyuki's suggestion of team ups. But he recognized the issue at hand.

"That would leave you and Shiba-kun without a strong barrier user, Miyuki. Nakura is proficient in such magic. And given he protects Mayumi that leaves the best grouping to be you and I, while Shiba-kun heads in with Mayumi and Nakura.

Miyuki gave a quick sigh and agreed, though she was obviously annoyed about something.

As they got out of the vehicle, Katsuto and Miyuki headed to the other side of the abandoned chemical plant while Tatsuya, Mayumi and her bodyguard Nakura were to take the front entrance.

Mayumi tugged on Tatsuya's sleeve and said with a slight blush "Keep me safe, OK Tatsuya-kun?" Tatsuya could only nod nervously at the expression she was giving him.

Nakura coughed to dispel the tension, so Tatsuya began to lead them to the entrance of the abandoned plant.

As they got to the entryway, Mayumi smiled devilishly and said "Nakura-san, please stay behind to guard our flank. Wouldn't want any of Blanche to catch us from behind~"

Tatsuya did not like the look in her eyes as she looked at him.

Objecting to Mayumi, Nakura began to say "Ojou-sama, this is no time to-"

"Nakura, that was an order not a request."

Sighing, the aged man said "Of course, Ojou-sama." The man eyed Tatsuya as if to say "Don't mess up." Tatsuya nodded at the man.

As they entered the abandoned site, Tatsuya grew increasingly uncomfortable at how close Mayumi was getting to him. Luckily for him, his Elemental Sight showed him they were about to walk into a room full of armed terrorists.

"Mayumi, the next room is full of armed men. Get ready." Tatsuya's voice was hard, indicating she needed to get serious.

"Right, Tatsuya-kun!"

"The user of that Consciousness-Interference magic may be here as well. Be on the lookout for any attempt at such manipulation."

She nodded with a determined look on her face.

When they walked in, a purpled-haired man in glasses shouted in glee. "Tatsuya Shiba, welcome welcome! We didn't dare to hope you would come for us. But based on what my sources say about your relationship with your sister and Miss Saegusa there, I shouldn't be surprised you'd come after our attack!"

Mayumi almost stumbled at the man's words. Tatsuya was confused about her behavior as always.

Tatsuya stepped forward, placing himself in front of Mayumi. At his movement, the dozens of terrorists surrounding the pompous man aimed their automatic weapons at Tatsuya.

"Tsk tsk Tatsuya, I was told you were brilliant. You are simply… outgunned here."

Even Tatsuya had to groan at that.

"That aside, I am most intrigued by your ability to use Cast Jamming without antinite. Such an ability will be most useful for my organization."

Tatsuya chuckled at the man. He really went all the way with this monologuing his plans shtick.

Suddenly, the man took off his glasses and threw them into the air to distract Tatsuya.

"Join us Tatsuya Shiba! You work for Tsukasa Hajime now! You are Blanche, you live to see the downfall of magicians!"

Purples waves of light were projected from the man's eyes at Tatsuya.

As Tatsuya stumbled are bit, Mayumi shouted "Tatsuya-kun!"

* * *

Miyuki was pretty miffed to say the least. Not only was she having to fight a bunch of no-name Blanche mooks, she didn't even get to do it at her brother's side.

She looked over at the imposing senior. Katsuto. Although his family's barrier magic "Phalanx" made their offensive pathetically easy, she wouldn't forgive him for separating her from her brother. And for letting her brother go with… _that_ woman.

Miyuki couldn't stop thinking about Mayumi. It was obvious Mayumi was interested in Tatsuya. Probably the only person in their circle of friends who didn't realize that was Tatsuya himself.

Miyuki froze several terrorists with "Niflheim", much to Katsuto's surprise given the spell is extremely difficult and only available to licensed A-rank magicians.

"Shiba-san."

"Yes Juumonji-senpai?"

"Is there something going on between Shiba and Mayumi?"

Miyuki's eyes widened in shock. There's no way that could be true, right? Her brother can't feel those kinds of things, can he?

Her voice came out harshly, "Why would you think that?"

Juumonji was clearly not comfortable with this kind of conversation, so he spoke hesitantly to Miyuki.

"It's just… I've never seen Mayumi act like that before. She's never acted like that around any of the the others at First High."

Miyuki sighed in relief. He merely noticed what she had. She was scared for a second…

"Nothing is going on between them, Juumonji-senpai. Mayumi-senpai and ND Onii-san are just friends."

"Hm." Katsuto didn't seem to agree, which only grated on Miyuki's nerves even more.

* * *

"Tatsuya-kun!" Mayumi had shouted.

The man identifying himself as Tsukasa Hajime was laughing in ecstasy. After casting his magic Tatsuya lurched back an his head was turned towards Mayumi, his eyes were unfocused.

"The incredible Course 2 student is now part of Blanche! Magicians will learn magic is not all-powerful with this boy. Now Tatsuya, eliminate that girl so that we may be on our way." The man smiled arrogantly.

Mayumi shouted "Don't let him control you Tatsuya-kun!" She was nearly in tears that he had been mentally corrupted.

The corners of his mouth arched upwards a bit, causing her to take a step back. However, Tatsuya turned away from her and spoke in his usual monotone voice.

"As I thought. Consciousness-Interference type Magic, Evil Eye. Rather pretentious name, it's essentially just hypnosis. You thought your little stunt with the glasses would fool me?"

Tatsuya smiled and seemed to mimic Tsukasa's dramatics. "Don't underestimate me. It takes no effort for me to simply blow away your Magic Sequence with my Psions."

Tsukasa Hajime had been growing more and more haggard she Tatsuya continued to speak. "Destroying a Magic Sequence? Bullshit, your Counter Magic is Cast Jamming!"

Mayumi was amazed. What Tatsuya said should be impossible. To destroy a Magic Sequence with Psions required an enormous Psion count, more than ever she possessed. "Gram Demolition" was a magic with almost no users in the entire world.

And his correctly identifying the man's manipulation magic confirmed hers and Mari's suspicion that Tatsuya could see Activation Sequences.

"He's incredible…" Mayumi whispered entranced.

As she walked forward to stand next to Tatsuya, Tsukasa began to freak out and walked backwards into the crowd of Blanche members.

"Kill them you fool! Kill them!"

Mayumi was about to erect a barrier to block the projectiles, but Tatsuya placed an arm in front of her and shook his head.

As the armed Blanche members raised their firearms, they let began to yell. For some reason, all of their weapons began breaking into pieces.

At this sight Tsukasa fled from the room in a panic. As the terrorists opted to pull combat knives, Tatsuya sighed and spoke to Mayumi.

"Get behind me for a moment."

As soon as she did, Tatsuya directed one of his Silver Horns as the crowd of men and emitted several consecutive Psion waves, causing them all to fall over unconscious.

"Oh my Tatsuya, you make it look easy." She winked at him for maximum charm.

Tatsuya rubbed the back of his head nervously and said "Yea well, that won't hold them for too long. We need to apprehend the rest of them as well."

She they proceeded to the next hallway, Mayumi activated her sensory magic "Multiscope" to see far ahead and through the walls. She noticed even more men with firearms, and some of them wore strange rings too.

After reporting this too Tatsuya, he sighed and simply responded "That won't be a problem. Just get behind me when-"

"Tatsuya that's like the 3rd time you've told me that tonight. I can take care of myself you know."

"Oi I just meant those guys have antinite. I didn't want to get uncomfortable when they used Cast Jamming."

Mayumi saw her opportunity. "Oh, so you were worried about me, Ta-kun~?"

"Of course."

"Oh Tatsuya-kun, to think you have such feelings for me~"

Tatsuya was sweating buckets at this point. "No I just meant-"

"Anyway Tatsuya, we need to focus on this he guys in the next room. Come on~".

She grabbed his arm and pulled him with her until he walked on his own.

* * *

As Tatsuya walked into the room first, he noticed the Blanche terrorists aim several rings at him which promptly began to emit the familiar Psion waves used to stop magic activation.

Tsukasa Hajime was at the back of the room cackling. "Now you will see magic is not all-powerful! You're powerless under true Cast Jamming, Tatsuya Shiba!"

Mayumi pressed up against Tatsuya back and shuddered a bit at all of the Psions bombarding them.

Tatsuya responded calmly "This much antinite… So your sponsor is the Great Asian Alliance, while your employer was was a breakaway of the old White Russia."

At the identification of his own secrets, Tsukasa repeated his order to kill them.

Tatsuya aimed the CAD in his right hand at the men in front of him. Blue beams shot forth and pierced through the terrorists as he destroyed parts of their information bodies with Partial-Mist Dispersion.

Mayumi gasped at the magic. Tatsuya knew showing her this much could be dangerous, but it was the best move given all of the antinite in use.

The armed men all collapsed due to the holes Tatsuya made in their bodies, causing them to bleeding considerably.

Tsukasa had lost all confidence and shrieked "How can you use magic under Cast Jamming?!"

Before Tatsuya could retort, the wall behind Tsukasa was blown open by a multi-colored barrier. Stepping through the hole in the wall was Juumonji followed by Miyuki, much to Tatsuya's relief. He had kept track of her via Elemental Sight the entire time, but it was comforting to get visual confirmation nonetheless.

Before Tsukasa could use his antinite on the new entrants, Miyuki looked at him in irritation and froze the hand with the antinite bracelet, causing Tsukasa to howl in pain before Juumonji used a spell to render him unconscious.

"Miyuki, I'm glad to see your unharmed," Tatsuya said in in a relieved tone.

Miyuki blushed a bit in response and simply shook her head.

"Eh, Tatsuya. How _did_ you use magic under Cast Jamming? Especially such a powerful magic as that one."

Tatsuya turned to look at Mayumi as the authorities Katsuto called for upon their arrival got to work detaining all the criminals. Her eyes were bright in adoration, unnerving Tatsuya.

"Well, that's as bit of as secret Mayumi," Tatsuya said aloofly. Tatsuya was about ready to bolt, but he felt like he had snakes in his stomach at the thought of just bolting from her.

"Awww, I know it's rude to ask about your magic but can't I at least get a hint Ta-kun~?" At this question, she placed one of her hands on Tatsuya's arm mischievously.

Tatsuya shuddered a bit at the contact. At this point, Miyuki stormed off to sulk, though Tatsuya didn't notice. He was distracted. Juumonji was surreptitiously watching their interaction, though he couldn't hear what was said.

"Well,.uh…" Tatsuya was having a hard time answering without giving away too much. Mayumi was too knowledgeable at magic theory and too skilled in practical magic for him to trick. She might even infer the nature of the spell herself.

Mayumi took a step closer to him causing his breath to hitch a bit. Close contact with the opposite sex was not something his Guardian training equipped him to handle. It had simply never affected him before.

"Please Taaaaa-kun~?"

"O-Ok," he said. Sighing at being caught this flat-footed, he continued "It's a magic I was born with. Decomposition allows me to break down information bodies that I perceive."

Mayumi looked shocked at him for a moment and stepped back. Tatsuya wasn't sure how to feel. On one hand he felt and bit more comfortable but now he wasn't sure if he scared her or something.

Suddenly she flew forward and hugged him around the waist. Looking up at his face she said "I knew you were an amazing guy! To have a power like that… it's incredible." Her eyes were alight like stars again.

Tatsuya wasn't sure how to handle this, so he just did what he always did for Miyuki. Patting her head with a *pon pon*, he said nervously "Mayumi, could you please let me go now?"

Embarrassed at the scene she was making and the head pat, Mayumi stepped back blushing. Miyuki had been watching the proceedings from afar and was chomping at the bit to freeze Mayumi on the spot.

"Sorry Tatsuya. Hehe, well this has been an… eventful evening. But since Katsuto-kun has things wrapped up here, I will see you later. Goodnight Ta-kun~"

Bidding Tatsuya farewell, Mayumi left with Nakura.

After he and Miyuki arrived home later that night, Tatsuya was feeling more confused than ever before. Miya's magic shouldn't have allowed such feelings of great nervousness to come out, much less whatever happened to him when she touched his arm.

He couldn't exactly ask anyone else about since he was more or less a unique case in how magic altered his mind. Even his Aunt Maya, who was subjected to the same magic, didn't undergo the same procedure as he did.

He wasn't sure if it was an old adage, but it should be: When in doubt, ask your mother.

* * *

 **(Shiba Residence, near midnight)**

After Miyuki went to bed, Tatsuya knocked on Honami's door and she let him in.

"What brings you here so late, Tatsuya?" she said, followed by a yawn.

"Sorry to keep you up so late, Okaa-san. I was just… troubled by something earlier." Tatsuya's brows furrowed at whatever was on his mind.

Patting the bed to indicate he should sit next to her, she waited for him to gather his thoughts.

"I've been getting these strange feelings lately… I just don't know what's happening to me." He was rather glum.

She hated to see him so worried, so she pulled his head down onto her shoulders after moving her purple hair to lay on her other shoulder.

"What kind of feelings?" Honami asked in a concerned tone. Although he seemed worried about it, Honami was rather excited for him, though she masked it.

"I'm not exactly sure, this is all so bizarre for me… After all the ridiculous moved Blanche made, Miss Saegusa was hounding me a bit. We got into a sticky situation so I had to use a Decomposition spell to deal with it." He sighed. "I had to spill the beans about the magic, I couldn't think of a road out of it without inviting more scrutiny on myself."

At the mention of that girl's name, Honami almost giggled. She had been joking before but she was starting to wonder if Tatsuya did have a thing for Mayumi Saegusa. It was almost a cruel bit of irony given Maya's history with Mayumi's father, Koichi. But then again, Honami wasn't shredding any tears over sleights to Maya...

Trying to get to the bottom of why he was upset, she asked "Are you down because you told her about the magic?"

Tatsuya thought for a moment before he responded. "No. It was more like I didn't feel comfortable lying to her about it. I probably should have just walked away, but it just didn't feel right. My stomach clenched at the thought of doing that."

Honami's eyes lit up, though Tatsuya didn't see that. She knew she had to clamp down on her excitement or she'd confuse the boy even more. He needed her to be his rock right now, not just his wingman… wing-girl, whatever.

"Do you regret telling her?" Honami asked pointedly.

"No, I'm just a bit nervous this could have repercussions if word gets out. Oba-ue won't take kindly to this, not to mention the government."

"Does Miss Saegusa strike you as trustworthy?" Honami asked as she wrapped her left arm around her son's waist to hold him closer to her.

"I'm not sure, I believe so. I think she and a friend of hers figured out I can read Activation Sequences and that hasn't gotten out yet."

Honami stood from the bed and knelt in front of Tatsuya. After putting her right arm on his shoulder, she said "If you're not sure yet, maybe you should hang out with her some more until you're certain you want to open up or not. The decision is yours, son. Only you can make this choice, not me, not Miyuki and certainly not Maya."

After Honami gave him a patented mother's hug, Tatsuya responded happily "Thanks, Okaa-san."

Sporting a wide grin, she said "That's what mothers are for. But a word of warning." Suddenly her tone changed to somber, while she gave Tatsuya a glare he had never seen before.

"Y-yes?"

Smiling creepily, she gripped his shoulder harder and said "If I become a grandmother before I'm 40 I'll kill you."

"W-what?!"

"Oh nothing. Get to bed son."

"Right, Okaa-san." Tatsuya walked out of Honami's room with a completely bewildered look.

Speaking to herself, Honami said "Sorry Maya, but it looks like Miya thought emotion should win out in the end."

Sighing to herself, she stated "I only hope he can get to that point."

* * *

Next Chapter: **Nine Schools Competition Part 1**

 **(A/N):** Wow, I'm really sorry about how late this was. Life has been extremely busy for me lately. Hopefully this didn't come out too bad. I've also written (but not yet uploaded) the first chapter of a Mahouka crossover fic. I'll try to upload that soon after I rewrite part of it, as reward for this chapter being like a week later that upload.

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease review. I like seeing reviews.


	5. Chapter 5: 9SC (1)

**(A/N):** Changes between the events, characters and world mechanics in this fic from the canon are largely intentional. Otherwise, I try to keep things working the same as they do in canon Mahouka.

Even if you don't have an account, reviews would be and are much appreciated! They keep me motivated to write and to do so better~

* * *

Chapter 5: **9SC Part 1**

 **(July, Shiba Residence Basement Lab, nighttime)**

Although he hadn't forgotten Major Kazama's warning about the activity of a criminal syndicate near the site of the upcoming Nine Schools Competition, Tatsuya hadn't let that dampen his excitement at the fruits of his efforts.

For quite some time he had been working towards fulfilling his dream, one which he was somewhat embarrassed to even mention to others. He made the first steps towards realizing this dream when he burst onto the CAD development scene. As _Taurus Silver_ , he developed the hypothesized Loop Cast system, allowing a magician to continuously invoke a desired spell.

After inspecting his code for errors and inefficiencies again, he believed he had finally managed to utilize Loop Casting to create a Generalized Flying-Type Magic. By aiming to create an extremely small Activation Sequence, the specialized CAD he created for the magic should be able to input the necessary variables into the Flying-Type Magic Sequence with precise timing needed to maintain flight without requiring increasingly higher Interference Strength. Such precise calculation wasn't possible for humans but for a machine it would be trivial. By reducing the Activation Sequence to the bare essentials, minimizing the Psion consumption and letting the device handle the bulk of the calculations, the Flying-Type magic should be usable for most magicians.

"Onii-san?"

Tatsuya had been distracted from his excitement by his sister's entrance. Turning to look at Miyuki, he almost had to catch his breath. She was dressed in a colorful outfit which resembled a figure skater's, but with a translucent, multicolored miniskirt around the waist.

Miyuki seemed pleased by his reaction to the attire she'd be wearing in the "Mirage Bat" event of the Nine Schools Competition.

"How do I look?" she asked playfully as she clasped her hands together in front of her.

Smiling wryly, he responded "Rather cute I'd say, it's suits you well. That aside, you have good timing."

Miyuki looked a bit put off that he rushed through his compliments so quickly, so she turned around and pouted.

Tatsuya ascended from his chair and poked her shoulder from behind her. When she didn't respond, Tatsuya continued poking her shoulder and said "Miyuki, would you like to help me test this out?"

As she turned around, she asked "Test wha-". She looked at Tatsuya with a surprised expression.

Not that Tatsuya was surprised by her shock, he was showing off a bit on purpose. Hovering in front of Miyuki's face, Tatsuya was seated on nothing but air complete with a slight smirk.

"Onii-san, did you…"

"I did."

"So Sustained Gravity-Control-type Magic has been achieved? Congratulations, Onii-san!" In her glee, Miyuki hugged Tatsuya as he landed on the ground, a hug Tatsuya returned affectionately and ran a hand through her hair. When she finished, she was blushing slightly, confusing Tatsuya.

"Well as I said, would you like to help me test it out, Miyuki?" He threw in another smile, hoping to get her to relax.

"I would be delighted, Onii-san!" He handed the specialized CAD to Miyuki, who seemed eager to take part in the momentous occasion.

As Tatsuya ran the Flying-Type magic through its paces with Miyuki's help, he could barely mask his excitement. The Loop Cast system was a perfect match to solve this longstanding puzzle in Weight-Type magic. Although it was too soon to call it a total success since he still needed to test it with magicians bearing average Psion reserves, Tatsuya was satisfied FLT would be able to announce the results within a few days. Once again, _Taurus Silver_ would make history, boosting his already high regard in the magic community (not that Tatsuya cared about such notoriety for himself).

With yet another step made toward his goal, Tatsuya couldn't help but feel warm inside.

"Perhaps it won't be too much longer until I can help _her_ as she helped me…" he mused to himself as he thought about the woman in question.

As he was lost in thought for a few moments, he failed to notice Miyuki's slightly annoyed expression when she saw him staring off into space instead of watching her midair performance. He took a deep breath and exhaled noisily through his nose as he closed his eyes. Although Tatsuya was unaware of it, the _almost_ imperceptible smile on his face was unmistakable to her.

* * *

 **(First High Auditorium, a few days later)**

As Miyuki was handing out the badges to the individuals who would be competing in the Nine Schools Competition, she grew elated as she she neared her brother.

Mayumi was calling out the names of those drafted into the competition and her brother had already been selected to join the Technician Team who oversee and manage the CADs for those participating in the events, such as Miyuki herself.

"Tatsuya Shiba!" Mayumi announced into the microphone.

Miyuki managed to prevent her irritation from showing on her face at the council President emphasizing her brother's name. She needed to maintain her image as a proper Ojou-sama to him, especially in their current setting.

As she placed his badge on his jacket, she gave Tatsuya an exquisite smile that would K.O. any lesser man. Although her brother appreciated her affection, he - true to form - accepted his badge with the grace befitting a member of the 10 Master Clans.

At the announcement of Tatsuya's name, his class (1-E) erupted into applause and congratulatory cheers that one of their own defied convention and made the cut for the NSC. Conversely, many of Miyuki's fellow Course 1 students directed derisive and dismissive looks at her brother. Miyuki eyed several of them with cold glares, causing them to look away in embarrassment; Morisaki Shun wisely did nothing to draw her ire this time.

 **(2 weeks later)**

It had been 2 weeks since First High had begun training for the Nine Schools Competition. Miyuki. The contestants were working on improving their physical aptitude as well as their skill in the event they were to participate in.

Because of her exceptional talent at magic, Miyuki would be participating in 2 events: Mirage Bat and Ice Pillars Break. In addition to her training at school, Miyuki had continued practicing with Yakumo. His illusion magic allowed her to train at a high level for the Newcomer Division's Mirage Bat event.

As she had just finished physical regimen with Shizuku and Honoka, Miyuki was strolling through First High's campus alone as school ended for the day. Tatsuya was currently working on optimizing the CADs of some of the other female contestants, so he had to step away for a few hours.

At the thought of CADs, Miyuki began to feel excited for her brother. Just last week, Four-Leaves Technology revealed _Taurus Silver's_ success at producing a functioning generalization of Flying-Type magic, much to the shock of FLT's competitors and the magic community at large. While FLT wasn't directly profiting from the magic itself - they released the Activation Sequence to the public - they were making a killing off the sales of the specialized CAD the magic required. Not to mention the increased interest it generated in FLT's other products such as the Sagittarius Series.

While Miyuki made her way toward the CAD maintenance room, her thoughts turned to the night Tatsuya had made the impossible a reality. While she had worked up the nerve to put on a bit of a show for her brother in the air, she felt mortified when he seemed unaffected by it save for a brief compliment. And worse he zoned out while smiling about something else…

"About someone else?" Miyuki wondered.

She couldn't help but picture that slight smile of his, reminding her of the look he had given their twin second cousins a few years prior. It was a look of honest satisfaction, or as near such an expression as Tatsuya was capable of making. Miyuki wasn't upset that Tatsuya was happy, but that he wasn't directing such an expression her way. Because of the "Pledge" magic connecting them, Miyuki knew the emotion he showed was genuine and directed at someone else.

"Just what… or rather, _who_ , was he thinking about? Who could make him smile that way?" she thought conspiratorially. Her mind flashed back to the scene after the Blanche incident back in April when she saw Mayumi all over her brother. The image of Tatsuya patting Mayumi's head the way he had reserved for Miyuki caused her to exhale in frustration.

"It can't be… he can't have been thinking about Mayumi-senpai, could he? He shouldn't be able to feel anything like that for her!" she said abruptly.

Shocked at her own behavior, Miyuki knew she needed to calm down before she brought a blizzard to the campus in the middle of summer. She glanced around nervously. Luckily there was no one around to hear her slip up, given how late in the day it was. She sighed in relief.

She wanted to confront her brother about his odd reaction but she was also afraid of what the truth of the matter would be…

* * *

 **(August 1st, First High)**

Mayumi finally arrived at First High. It was the day they were to leave for the site of the Nine Schools Competition. Their departure time was actually an hour and a half earlier, but Mayumi had to deal with unexpected "family business" that delayed her.

Her father, Koichi Saegusa, was in the process of finding the appropriate partner to marry Mayumi off to. Because of the tendency of magicians of the next generation to be born with stronger magic aptitude than the previous one, marriage in prestigious magic families was very much like horse trading. It also allowed families to build up their relationship with other prominent families and trade for favors and financial benefits.

Because the Saegusa family - alongside the Yotsuba family - was considered to be the most powerful and well-connected family of magicians, prospective marriage partners were virtually exclusive to others of the 10 Master Clans. One such potential arranged partner was the unexpected guest who delayed Mayumi's arrival for so long.

The arrival of Hirofumi Itsuwa at the Saegusa residence threw her morning into disarray. Hirofumi had learned that his competition for Mayumi's hand in marriage, Katsuto, had stayed for dinner at the Saegusa household a few nights previous and didn't want to fall behind. Throughout their breakfast chit chat, Hirofumi would repeatedly claim to agree with Mayumi on all sorts of things.

"Hirofumi-san… is way too… agreeable," Mayumi thought awkwardly.

Mayumi found the idea of arranged marriages repulsive. She certainly wasn't the first magician to feel this way, but it also went against her personality and values. She had no problem doing her duty to her family, but this responsibility never sat well with her. It wasn't the sort of relationship she could ever be happy with, whether it was with Katsuto, Hirofumi or anyone else.

Despite having told her team to leave without her, her popularity was such that they agreed to wait on her.

As Mayumi ran towards the bus for the NSC contestants, she noticed her friend Mari was standing outside the bus door along with a certain male student she had grown fond of.

"Sorry~" she exclaimed as she arrived at the bus.

As Mayumi was catching her breath and smoothing out the summer dress she wore, Mari responded "Jeez, we wondered when you were going to show up Mayumi."

Mayumi was about to apologize again when Mari eyed her and Tatsuya with a gleam in her eyes. "Don't stay out here and keep us waiting too much longer Mayumi" she said, giggling as she go onto the bus.

Mayumi shot an embarrassed look at Tatsuya who simply said matter-of-factly, "There's no need to apologize, President. As you sent word ahead 3 hours ago, we knew you'd be late. But as everyone wished to wait for you there's no need to say 'sorry'."

Shooting him a bashful look, Mayumi asked cutely "Oh, did you wish to wait on me as well, Ta-kun~?"

Although it could have just been the summer heat, Mayumi noticed Tatsuya's began to sweat a little at her question; it looked quite funny given he still retained his usual expressionlessness.

"Well, uh, since you told us to go ahead without you I was actually in favor of leaving on time."

"Eh?"

…

Mayumi pouted and crossed her arms. "Hmph. And here I was going to ask you to sit next to me on the bus, Tatsuya. I even picked out this nice dress and hat for the occasion."

"Well, they suit you quite well Mayumi," he said in a placating tone.

Despite that, Mayumi left him outside alone, annoyed that he didn't wish to wait for her. Unknowingly to her, Tatsuya sighed in relief at dodging that bullet. After settling into her seat on the bus, Mayumi observed him hurry over to the separate bus the Technician Team were being transported in.

As the bus made it's way to the southeast portion of the Fuji Exercise Grounds, Mayumi was grumbling to herself quietly as she at the passing scenery out the window.

"That guy… I thought he would be interested in being around me… he told me about his secret magic after all…"

"What was that President?" asked Suzune.

Mayumi gulped. In her frustration, she had forgotten that Suzune was sitting next to her.

Stuttering a bit, she responded "U-uh, I was just mad that Ta-kun was so inconsiderate earlier. He didn't care if I came with the team at all so I refused to ask him to sit next to me…"

Suzune didn't seem very convinced by her response but decided to let it slide.

"Hm, I think you're overreacting a tad, President. Besides, it was probably for the best," she said in a thoughtful tone.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean Rin-chan?" She fixed Suzune with annoyed expression.

Suzune's serious expression remained as she explained "Well, not many men can resist your beauty. There are even rumors that you unconsciously cast a 'Bewitching Face' magic to entrance all the men at school."

Given Suzune's Tatsuya-like expressions, Mayumi couldn't tell if the whole thing was a joke, which only hastened her descent into a tantrum.

"But even if he had come aboard, I hear Shiba-kun excels at canceling others's magic, so you might not have a chance if you only rely on that."

At this point, Mayumi knew she was receiving a rare bit of teasing from Suzune.

With tears in her eyes, Mayumi sat up on her seat and moved to grip the sleeves of Suzune's shirt and said "Rin-chan, how could you?"

"Now now President, you need to relax. This is no time to lose you head."

"You can't say that after working me up Rin!"

Having noticed her behavior, Hattori walked to the front of the bus to see if Mayumi was OK.

Little did he expect to be on the receiving end of her childish tantrum…

* * *

After chastising Kanon for her own childish fit at not getting to sit with her betrothed, Mari had Miyuki sit next to Kanon after the younger Shiba had also calmed down about her own desire that her brother was relegated to the Technician Team's bus.

As she glanced around the bus, she noticed Mayumi had finished teasing Hattori and was now staring out the window with a contemplative look on her face.

Suddenly, Kanon shouted "Look out!"

On the opposite side of the road, a car was swerving dangerously due to a blown out tire. However when the car slammed into the median it unexpectedly vaulted over the median onto their side of the road, causing several students to yell in fear.

With a flaming car now headed right for their bus, the bus driver slammed on the brakes desperately. Miraculously, the bus was able to stop in only a few seconds.

Mari was about to quickly issue instructions when several younger students each took it upon themselves to handle the situation. The first was Kanon, followed by Shizuku and Morisaki.

Because they each tried to apply rewrite the phenomenon of the same object, their magics were interfering with each other, preventing any of the magics from working. Worse, the excess Psions they produced would make it difficult for anyone else to cast magic to correct their mistake.

"Don't be stupid, cancel those Activation Sequences!" she barked.

As they recalled their uncompleted magics, Mari knew they required someone to apply a magic with an even higher Interference Strength in order to overcome the numerous Magic Sequences around the flaming wreckage headed their way.

"Juumonji!"

Katsuto seemed quite nervous. Despite his enormous ability with barrier magics, the storm of Psion around them might interfere with even his ability to erect a barrier to stop the oncoming threat and the flames that came with it.

"I will handle the fire!" the younger Shiba affirmed.

Katsuto nodded as the Miyuki began to invoke her magic. Mari wasn't sure if even Miyuki could cast a magic with all of the Magic Sequences in play.

But then Mari was thrown for a loop. The haphazardly cast sequences were suddenly blown away, allowing Miyuki to put out the flames with her Oscillation-Type magic, "Freeze Flame". With the flames and Psions taken care of, Katsuto was able to repel the car with a Movement-Type Magic barrier before the car could get within 20 feet of the bus.

All in all, it only took the students a mere 8 seconds to plan and execute their response to the sudden danger.

Mari couldn't understand what happened. Sure, she noticed that the Magic Sequences had all disappeared, but the cause was unknown to her. Given the mess of Magic Sequences, the only candidate was some sort of Non-Systematic Counter Magic. But the only person on the bus she knew with such a magic was Mayumi.

Looking toward their possible savior, Mari immediately knew she wasn't the culprit. Mayumi looked shocked, not as if she had been prepared to deal with such an obstacle in time. Further, Mari knew that Mayumi's "Psion Bullet" counter magic wasn't sufficient to deal with this threat. It was a precision-use counter magic, whereas this one was able to completely overwhelm and destroy multiple Magic Sequences like a wrecking ball.

Suddenly, Mayumi threw a brief look of gratitude at the Technician Team's bus behind theirs. That look, in addition to Miyuki's apparent foreknowledge of the elimination of the interference, caused Mari to conclude that the culprit could only have been Tatsuya Shiba. He was known to have cast some kind of idiosyncratic Counter Magic, but adding more Psion waves to the mix would have only worsened the situation.

"Hmm. Whatever that was, it seems he bears some looking into…" Mari mused. "Still, how did Mayumi know it was him?" Not that she minded, but Mari was certain Mayumi had learned of some of Tatsuya's secrets. While they were good friends, Mari felt it might be overstepping things to ask her to violate Tatsuya's confidence.

Now it was time to scold her juniors who acted so recklessly and escalated the danger...

* * *

 **(Ballroom, later that evening)**

After serving drinks to some of the surrounding students, Erika walked around to see if she could spot a familiar face.

Although she had told Miyuki that she called on the Chiba family's connections to attend the NSC, the truth of the matter is that her family forced her to attend the event. Her "connections" went as far as being allowed to work at the event as a servant in exchange for attending the competition.

Sighing, she looked down at her maid outfit and was reminded of Mikihiko squealing "C-cosplay?!" when he saw what she would be wearing. Her vengeance had been swift; Miki and Leo had to work at the venue as well, although not in the same position as Erika.

"Besides, none of us needs to see Miki in a maid outfit… well, I'm sure _someone_ might enjoy that sight," she mumbled, nearly causing her to chuckle at the thought.

Luckily, she spotted one of her targets leaning against a wall away from the crowd of more than 300 contestants and auxiliary members. Although he had already paid for taking a gander at her accidental cleavage, Erika still enjoyed keeping Tatsuya on his toes. He was a hard guy to unbalance, but he seemed quite… inexperienced dealing with the fairer sex. Then again, Erika wasn't a very typical girl.

Assuming a playful tone of voice, she said "Would you like a drink?"

"Ah, so this is what Miyuki was talking about."

"Surprised, Tatsuya-kun?" she asked as he subtly eyed her outfit.

"Y-yea."

Smiling mischievously, Erika thought she had at least kept him from staying as in control of the conversation as he usually was. The fact that her current appearance had such an effect on him was a nice bonus.

Not having noticed her walking toward them, Erika was surprised by Miyuki jumping into their chitchat after Tatsuya had gotten quiet.

"Oh Erika, that dress is so cute on you. I see what you meant before."

"Thanks Miyuki, I thought so too. But Tatsuya seems pretty set on not mentioning it." She did a quick twirl for good measure, but Tatsuya had already resumed his usual robot impression.

"It's no use Erika. Onii-san doesn't pay attention to that sort of thing…" She then glanced at Tatsuya briefly before muttering "Most of the time..."

Tatsuya raised an eyebrow at Miyuki, who declined to elaborate under Tatsuya's questioning gaze.

"Trouble in paradise?" Erika thought. She figured it probably wasn't good for her health to poke her nose into that bit of business.

"Miki had enough of a reaction for the both of them anyway. That pervert, honestly, " Erika said with sigh.

"Miki?"

"Ah that's right Miyuki, you haven't met Mikihiko yet have you? I'll be right back!"

Before the two siblings could respond, Erika rushed off to find Mikihiko in the crowded ballroom. It took her several minutes to do so, but Erika finally found him as he finished serving the rest of the drinks he had on his tray.

"Miki!"

"It's Mikihiko!"

Ignoring him, Erika grabbed him by the wrist and said "You need to meet Tatsuya's sister. You've had ages to say hello, so you're forcing my hand."

"Huh?"

And with that, Erika pulled Mikihiko across the ballroom towards where she had left Tatsuya and Miyuki. Annoyingly however, the person she brought Mikihiko along to introduce himself to had vanished, leaving Tatsuya by himself with his typical aloof expression. That she saw Mari walking away from Tatsuya didn't help her mood.

"Where did Miyuki go, Tatsuya?"

"What, am I her watchdog now?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Haven't you always been that?" she replied with a triumphant smirk.

Tatsuya furrowed his brows at her comeback. It's hard to refute the truth.

Mikihiko seemed relieved however.

"At least I don't have to meet her dressed like this," he muttered, gesturing to his white-collared shirt and vest.

As Erika and Mikihiko went through their usual song and dance again, Tatsuya suddenly interrupted them.

"Where are Leo and Mizuki?"

"Hm~, those two are working behind the scenes in the kitchens. Leo could never be a waiter and Mizuki, well, there are too many good-looking guys here for her to function, hehe."

Tatsuya began to defend Leo and Mizuki halfheartedly when Mikihiko interrupted, "Hey, speaking of which why I am out here and not with them? I was sure I supposed to be on the support staff as well..." His pout and crossed arms were almost cute, but boy was Erika tired of all his complaining.

"It was just a clerical error Miki, so quit complaining!"

"What does that even mean?"

Erika decided to play her trump card so she said, "We're only interning, but we're still on the clock, Miki. There are some empty trays with your name on them!"

Pointing at the trays on question, Erika smiled mischievously at Mikihiko.

"I'll remember this Erika…" Mikihiko grumbled with a dejected expression on his face.

Tatsuya eyed her with a look communicating slight reprimand. "I'm not sure what's going on, but you're being a bit over-the-top, aren't you?"

Sighing, Erika responded "I admit, I'm being a bit too spiteful. I know Miki isn't cut out for this sort of role either."

"Spiteful?"

"It's just irritating that he'll get mad at my little jabs but just accept why we were sent here…"

"Oh?" he said in monotone.

"We're not here because we want to be. The elders of our families forced us to come here. I might be being a bit much for Miki, but I'm just a bit pissed off."

"Hm, I'll stick with remaining ignorant of the details. There's nothing I can do about it."

Erika was surprised he didn't try to comfort her as would be the normal reaction from a friend. But then again, Tatsuya wasn't the a very normal friend.

"You know Tatsuya-kun, you're pretty a detached person."

His raised an eyebrow at her and then shrugged in defeat at the truth of her words.

"I'm kind of grateful for it, it makes you easy to vent to since you won't say much either way. Still, if you were from a prominent family of magicians, maybe you'd have a bit more sympathy for my situation…"

Although she wanted to admonish him a bit more, she ended up using a more playful tone to make her response come off as teasing between friends.

If Erika had been more attentive, she would have noticed his jaw briefly clench in response to her words. As it stands, she only heard Tatsuya respond in his usual tone of voice.

"As you say, I can't really empathize with you there."

* * *

Although she had been mingling with her classmates and the Student Council, Miyuki had kept a keen eye on her brother throughout the evening.

Though she couldn't hear the two of them, Miyuki was annoyed at the close proximity her brother and Erika had during their discussion. The fact that Erika was quite beautiful didn't help matters.

However, she was pleased that her brother's inability to understand or respond to people's goodwill to him seemed to be in working order with Erika. Although Miyuki liked Erika and her spunky personality, it was obvious to her that Erika was romantically interested with her brother, on some level. When Erika walked off, Tatsuya watched her leave. Briefly, Miyuki wondered if her brother was checking out Erika before she got ahold herself.

But those thoughts brought to mind the reason for Tatsuya's poor emotional competence. That their own parents never once showed him love still tore at Miyuki's heart, especially given she was no better until recently. Tatsuya would never accept an apology from her on this account seeing as it was in the past, but this wasn't helpful for her own guilt.

Although mutters and whispers had followed her around the ballroom all evening, Miyuki paid them no mind. She didn't want their attention and the person's attention she did want was her oblivious brother, who seemed to draw in and maybe even return the feelings of beautiful women. She still hadn't worked up the courage to directly ask him about it.

After groaning in frustration, she muttered "Why is this so hard?"

The younger Shiba wasn't the only one eyeing Tatsuya. Although she was engaged in a bit of spying on First High's competition to get a leg up in the events, Mayumi found herself using her Visual Sensory Magic, 'Multi-Scope', to surreptitiously look at Tatsuya more often as the evening progressed.

She was a little annoyed at how close Tatsuya was to the beautiful redhead, although she couldn't make out their conversation with a magic like 'Multi-Scope'. She was surprised at her luck in not being discovered using her magic like this; many would regard it as immature, maybe a bit creepy.

Just as she was thinking this, the person she feared discovering her observation smirked. Because 'Multi-Scope' allowed her to get a visual from multiple angles, she could clearly see what he was doing.

Tatsuya looked up and mouthed slowly, "Stalker."

"Eep!" Mayumi squealed aloud, startling some of her friends.

"President?" Suzune asked with a concerned tone.

"Are you OK President?!" Hattori asked a little too excitedly.

Embarrassed at being caught and at her reaction, she waved off everyone's concerns.

"Uh, it was nothing guys. I just thought I saw… something."

Giving her confused looks, those nearby went back to what the were doing, allowing her to get control of her blushing before she was overcome with further attention from other attendees.

Several minutes later, a number of well-known magicians in the Japanese magical community began to show up and proceeded to give speeches. Unexpectedly however, a beautiful young woman suddenly appeared onstage, with the stage lights bearing down upon her slender figure as the lights dimmed.

Murmurs began to break out among the students about the unexpected interruption. Mayumi was still a bit frazzled at getting caught that she didn't notice the simple deception before her. She glanced at Tatsuya, who was now smirking in the direction of the stage.

The woman then walked off the stage and the ballroom lighting was returned to normal, revealing the actual speaker as if he appeared out of thin air. At his appearance, whispers broke out again unsurprisingly.

The one who stood above the rest in terms of importance and prestige among Japanese magicians: the "Patriarch", Retsu Kudou.

It wasn't Mayumi's first time meeting the man, despite his renown as having been one of the strongest and cleverest magicians of the century. Her father had once been a student of the man, so his appearance at the Saegusa household in person or by video call was not unheard of.

Still, she was confused by his intentions with tricking everyone. Before the elder began to speak, he glanced at something in the back of the room with a satisfied smile. Projecting a commanding voice at odds with his advanced age, Retsu spoke into the microphone, "I must ask your forgiveness for the trickery. While my little act before was more sleight of hand than magic, my eyes could only see five of you see through deception. So consider this..."

Everyone was hanging on the Patriarch's next words, almost leaning forward surreptitiously to ensure they didn't miss a thing. Even Mayumi had been drawn in by the spectacle and sage words of the elder magician.

"...If I had been a terrorist seeking to annihilate you with bombs or a chemical attack, only five of you could have done anything in to try and save the situation."

Everyone was shocked by the elder's words. Although Retsu's tone didn't hold condemnation, Mayumi felt a little ashamed for falling for something so simple. As a member of the 10 Master Clans, being fooled by such a simple magic was a bit humbling.

Glancing at Katusto, Mayumi noticed that he too seemed slightly annoyed at failing to detect the hidden Kudou elder.

"Magic is a tool, it is not an end in itself. You all knew I'd be showing up and yet a mere handful of you were able to perceive my presence. As with any tool, a well-prepared weaker magic can exceed the results of a poorly used powerful magic. I hope my stunt here has helped to drive that point home."

As Mayumi watched the aged figure survey the student-filled ballroom, he proceeded to finish his speech. "In just a two days, you will engage in a competition where magic use is equally as important as what magic you use. I implore you, show me just how clever you can be!"

With the consummation of the speech, many in the audience broke into applause at the elder's words. Others, Mayumi noticed, wore skeptical or confused looks after hearing the man's words. It wasn't surprising; he contradicted the prevailing view among prominent magical families that the level of the magic employed was paramount. This was especially ground into the minds of the 28 Families, including Mayumi's own. Even the various political marriages between magician families were motivated by the notion of producing offspring capable of greater levels of magic.

She recalled seeing the elder smiling at something at the back of the ballroom. Looking in that direction, she noticed Tatsuya was there, bearing a quiet smile as he clapped.

"I wonder if he finds elder Kudou's words so agreeable since he's incapable of performing powerful magics?" she wondered to herself. Then she recalled his astounding ability to disassemble the Information Bodies of macroscopic objects **(1)**.

"Well, he's an irregular alright." she thought in amusement. "Most powerful magics are beyond his ability to execute, so the elder's words hold meaning for him. Yet he can pull of an amazing feat like that as well." She was close to giggling, so she calmed herself before she drew anymore unwanted attention from her peers.

As the evening began to wrap up, Mayumi began to wonder if she would be able to have Tatsuya be her engineer for one of her events. She was confident he'd do well enough, but given her talent the team probably wouldn't see any reason to give her a greater edge as opposed to those on the cusp of victory or defeat.

Little did Mayumi know just how well Tatsuya would perform in two days time…

* * *

 **(1) Note:** this is Mayumi's assumption about Tatsuya's magic. She doesn't realize he can decompose ANY information body he wants, because she assumes the required Interference Strength is impossible for a magician to have (Tatsuya can do it because he was born a Superpower user). Otherwise she'd realize Tatsuya can cast a matter-to-energy conversion magic, that is, **Material Burst**. Just wanted to make that clear; I didn't feel exposition on this point would fit in so I stuffed it down here. xD

 **(A/N):** Hello all, I'm really sorry for being late on this. It was the usual, life was busy. Annoyingly, this chapter was supposed to beat published like 5 days ago, but life decided to keep screwing with me during those days. This chapter was going to be about 7k words long as compensation, but I couldn't find a decent ending point without blowing through too much material or stopping abruptly. Where I ended here felt like a decent place to wrap up, hehe.

PLEASE review, I enjoy seeing them. The review doesn't have to be positive (although I like those of course); constructive critiques are also appreciated. Also, I don't know if anyone else likes her, but sorry there was no Honami this chapter. She's my favorite character to write in this fic, as I enjoy developing/exploring her relationship with Tatsuya. She will be in the next chapter. Anyway, have a good day and I hope you enjoyed this chapter~


	6. Chapter 6: 9SC (2)

**(A/N):** Changes between the events, characters and world mechanics in this fic from the canon are largely intentional. Otherwise, I try to keep things working the same as they do in canon Mahouka.

Even if you don't have an account, reviews would be and are much appreciated! They keep me motivated to write and to do so better~

* * *

Chapter 6: **9SC(2)**

 **(August 2nd, evening)**

Honami sighed in boredom as she looked at the clock, which displayed the current time as **6:30 pm**. As she glanced around the empty living room, she couldn't find anything to occupy her time.

Although Tatsuya and Miyuki had only been gone just over a day, Honami had already exhausted everything she could do from her daily routine. The dishes had been washed after her light dinner, the clothing freshly laundered, the floors vacuumed and the rooms made spotless.

She had even done some moderately intensive physical and magical training in the empty basement of their home. Despite having gone through 108* _kata_ moves several times, it just wasn't quite as satisfying as a sparring with a physical opponent. She had considered going to Kyuuchouji Temple to train with Yakumo as she had done with Tatsuya on occasion. However, monks or not, she didn't find the idea of being around a bunch of sweaty, reclusive, bald guys very appealing when she was alone. Especially that unscrupulous head monk…

Afterwards, Honami worked on improving her already high Magic Power. Specifically, she had been working to ensure the processing speed of her barrier magics were as fast as she could make them. She had to ensure that when push came to shove she would be fast enough to defend Tatsuya and Miyuki from surprise high speed attacks, whether they were magical in nature or from high-caliber firearms.

Although Honami had a few barrier magics implanted into her mind to allow her to Flash Cast them in an instant, they were hampered by being limited to defending a very small zone with only a moderately powerful barrier.

Depending on the nature and scale of the attack, she may be required to erect a sturdier barrier at a moment's notice. With that possibility in mind, she had been working to improve her processing speed with her most powerful barrier magic: "Aegis"**, a spell developed by the Yotsuba family for use by the Sakura series. To date, only Honami had been able to make the spell of practical use. However that was partly due to Tatsuya making adjustments to the Activation Sequence to decrease Psion consumption and developing a dedicated CAD for her magic. Such improvements greatly reduced the enormous strain the magic placed on the user when invoked on powerful or numerous targets.

It was on days like this - rare as they were - that Honami missed her career as an SP in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Although she had gone in knowing the job was only to make her more competent at guarding the now deceased Miya Yotsuba, Honami found it to be gratifying. It was a line of work compatible with someone as combat-oriented as Honami and it got her away from the suffocating Yotsuba main house. She had even become well respected and liked in the department, to the extent that her abrupt departure was greatly opposed.

That said, she much preferred being the parent of the Shibas. While police work scratched an itch of hers, childrearing satisfied a deep-seated need Honami felt to raise her own family. It was a bit morbid, but Honami was almost glad Miya was out of the picture. It gave her the opportunity to live this life without the distraction of protecting her. Just being around Miyuki and (especially) Tatsuya was comforting for her in a way she couldn't easily explain.

"I guess this is what having a family is like," she thought to herself while smiling.

Just as she was considering going to bed early out of boredom, the video phone in the living room suddenly began ringing. Recognizing the number, Honami quickly made sure her attire was presentable before answering.

After answering the call, the screen showed a mature, red-eyed beauty possessing long locks of luscious black hair ending in curls. And then there were her… assets; "large" didn't quite do them justice. And then there was her enchantingly attractive face, one sure to drive coherent thoughts out of the mind of many a person. Maya Yotsuba was a sight to behold whether one was a man or a woman.

"Ah Honami-san, good evening. I hope you are well~"

Bowing deeply, Honami answered formally "I am in good health, Mistress. Thank you for your concern. If you wish to speak with Miyuki-sama or Tatsuya-kun, they have left for the Nine Schools Competition."

Maya seemed to find Honami amusing for some reason, though Honami chose not to dwell it. It was difficult to be around Miya's sister without feeling like a rat in her maze. Her renown as "Hyperion" and the only known member of the feared Yotsuba Family left no doubt as to why she saw the world from a god's-eye perch.***

"I'm well aware that Miyuki-chan and Tatsuya-san have already gone to the competition site," she said with a smile.

"No Honami, I called to pass along information. I'm sure Tatsuya relayed to you Major Kazama's warning about criminal syndicate activity in the area of the competition. However, our own intelligence network has picked up more detailed intel."

As Maya said that, an indicator on the screen flashed to alert that a compressed file had been delivered over the secure connection. Maya waited briefly to allow Honami to glance over the contents before resuming. The documents contained, among other things, photos taken of rough-looking individuals - mostly large, muscular men clothed in nondescript outfits and with an apparent fondness for sunglasses - and brief summaries of their identities and recent movements.

"As you can see, characters like these are there for insurance should things not go the way their group desires. Their employers… no that's not the right word… their _owners_ are members of a Hong Kong based magic criminal syndicate known as 'No Head Dragon'. They deal in human and drug trafficking, production and sale of Sorcery Boosters, high-stakes gambling; the works."

Smirking, Maya continued, "And given they're hanging around a popular magic competition it's not hard to imagine what their M.O. is, is it?"

"Am I to travel to the competition site, Mistress? I was under the impression that the military, part of the 101 no less, would be present to deal with any potential incidents."

Although Honami seemed to be arguing against attending, she was quite hopeful she could go cheer on her kids. She knew Maya was well aware of the presence of Kazama's troops, yet she was handing Honami data concerning this group regardless.

"Right on both counts. Kazama has an adequate number of personnel to deal with the armed criminals. However, given Miyuki and Tatsuya are involved, First High is certain to upset this group's projected earnings. Faced with huge losses, 'No Head Dragon' is sure to take more drastic measures to minimize the hit to their finances."

Maya paused to take a sip of her tea, and then smiled almost mischievously. "And while I have no doubts about Tatsuya's capabilities, I'd rather be safe and send you as well rather than risk the well-being of one of the succession candidates. These concoctions of theirs are nasty pieces of work."

Dropping into another bow, Honami responded "I will defend them with my life, Mistress."

Though Honami missed it due to her bow, Maya almost looked gleeful at Honami's slip up.

"Oh, defend 'them' you say? How interesting. Honami, I was under the impression that you were only Miyuki's Guardian, not Tatsuya's~"

Honami's eyes widened for a split second due to her error. Honami was aware Maya could recall her to the main house if she felt Honami was not doing her duty, although there was no guarantee Miyuki would assent to Maya's command in this case. After her relationship with Tatsuya improved, Miyuki wasn't _quite_ as easy to bend to the family's will as she had been before. And as she was one of Miyuki's Guardians, Honami's fate was ultimately Miyuki's to decide, not Maya's.

Honami did her best to keep her features relaxed and responded in a conciliatory tone, "I misspoke, Mistress. I will ensure Miyuki is unharmed."

Maya giggled briefly before answering in a condescending tone, "Oh lighten up Honami. I'm well aware that you wish to go see your 'son'." She almost spat that last word in disgust. "Just don't delude yourself that he returns your feelings. My sister's work was flawless, you'll only waste time pining after a connection that can't exist between the two of you. Miyuki's safety takes priority over that fantasy."

After taking another sip of her tea, she stated, "After you review the files Hayama sent you, head to the competition venue immediately. I've contacted the 101, they will handle your accommodations while on the base."

After inclining her head in agreement, Maya bid her good evening.

Honami exhaled loudly after Maya's image disappeared from the screen.

"She's such a b-… uhg. And what does she know. She barely speaks to Tatsuya, she hardly knows him at all. She hasn't seen how he is when he opens up. I know he loves me as much as I love him…"

At that thought, she smiled as the memories of their times together flashed before her mind's eye. She grinned at how little know-it-all Maya knew about her closeness with Tatsuya. Excitement built up within her when she realized she'd get to go in person to see Miyuki compete and observe Tatsuya's engineering skills take the competition by storm.

Honami transferred the files to her portable terminal and familiarized herself with her targets and their potential abilities as she relaxed on the living room sofa.

"Hm, given their bulky builds they're likely close combat specialists. That's pretty much required since bringing unauthorized weapons onto a military base is a death sentence" she muttered in a serious tone.

As she read further into the detailed report, she was surprised just how much information there was. "Modified humans, eh? High in speed and brute strength, but lacking in the free will department… damn Generators, they're freaky." She almost shivered; given she was a modified human of a sort, it was a natural reaction. She was sure Tatsuya would find them personally disturbing as well, so she hoped she could intercept them in his place should Maya prediction come true. The transferred files indicated that 2 of these Generators had been sent to watch the Nine Schools Competition for their masters.

After having studied the documents for some time and memorizing the identities of her targets, she looked at the time and noticed it was nearly **7:00 pm** now.

"Damn, I'd better get packing!"

After she tossed a number of her favorite sets of summer wear outfits into a midsized suitcase, Honami quickly made her way to the Shiba residence's seldom used electric sedan.

"Hehe, I bet those 2 will be surprised to see me," Honami thought with smirk on her face. Honami couldn't decide if she should go with the embarrassing parent routine or just be their quiet support. On second thought, she realized seeing their reactions would be much more entertaining. And it would give her the opportunity to meet the siblings' friends since they hadn't invited any over to the house yet.

Since Miyuki would probably react like a normal teenage girl to such attention, Honami figured it would be more fun to tease the usually subdued Tatsuya in front of his friends.

Putting one of her hands over her mouth in amusement, Honami thought "Hopefully I can also do my performance near Ms. Saegusa to get the best results from Captain Stoic, hehehe~"

At that thought, Honami began the 2 hour drive to the competition site with a grin on her face.

* * *

 **(Several hours later, NSC Grounds, midnight)**

Major Kazama had detected bloodlust from several sources out on the grounds as he took a nighttime stroll.

"Intruders? If so, they must be planning something deadly to have risked infiltrating a military base," Kazama thought seriously.

The intruders were quite far from Kazama's position, so he took off in a sprint despite the formal military attire he was dressed in.

As Kazama drew nearer to the source of the emanated bloodlust, he detected 2 further individuals who were intercepting 3 armed individuals. Noticing that one of the defenders was Tatsuya, Kazama judged that the situation was under control and so decided to mask his presence to observe the situation.

By casting "Null Step" - the reverse Oscillation-type Magic favored by his sensei - Kazama dampened the sound of his footfall to undetectable levels by having the magic decrease the momentum of the air molecules carrying the sound. And by extending the target of the magic to the sound of his breathing, he was completely silent to even the most trained ear.

With the help of Tatsuya's "Partial Mist Dispersion", the other male student's "Thunder Spawn" left the armed intruders lying unconscious on the ground due to the electricity expelled from the talismans he used for his Ancient Magic.

"Hm, probably the Yoshida heir if his magic is any indication," Kazama mused. "Still, if Tatsuya hadn't been there I doubt his magic would have activated in time to stop them."

Tatsuya was scolding the Yoshida heir for his foolishness and his disparagement of himself.

"Tatsuya, you just wouldn't understand it."

"Mikihiko, you're concerned with your activation speed, right?"

"H-how did you... Erika!"

Tatsuya shook his head. "Erika did not tell me. I knew because normally you would have been fast enough to have struck these gunman first, but there are redundancies in your technique which slow the activation speed."

Practically yelling, Mikihiko said "This is Yoshida Family magic, refined across generations. We didn't refuse all the refinements of Modern Magic, so how can you claim to know it to be deficient after seeing it once?!"

Shrugging, Tatsuya said, "Hm, you probably won't believe me but I know because I can analyze any Activation Sequence I perceive as well as inspect the Magic Sequence itself. That's how I can see that your technique is intentionally designed to obfuscate the nature of the underlying spell."

Mikihiko's eyes widened at Tatsuya correctly understanding an aspect of the magic he had cast. As the two wrapped up their conversation and the Yoshida heir went to call for security, Kazama stopped hiding his presence and spoke to Tatsuya in an amused tone.

"My my, Special Lieutenant. You do seem to enjoy telling it like it is."

Tatsuya eyed Kazama and said "Ah, Major Kazama. Figures you'd sit back hidden while I do half the work."

Kazama chuckled at the young man's forthrightness. "It seems you're validating my words. It's odd, I thought you'd be indifferent to anything besides your sister, yet you seemed quite intent on getting your friend to deal with his underlying inadequacies. Sympathy because of your own situation, perhaps?"

"Eh, I'd say I've long since moved beyond those kinds of problems, Major. Besides, I can care about other people too."

"Hn, well then I believe not all is as your family head told us. You seem to exceed what she told us you were capable of feeling."

Tatsuya raised an eyebrow at Kazama in confusion. "I don't think anything I said tonight warrants such a fantastical conclusion, sir."

"So he really cannot see it himself, interesting. It seems Miss Sakurai was onto something when she described how he behaved around her. This bears watching," he thought. "Still, we'll know for sure tomorrow when she has fun at his expense.

"Sorry for keeping you, Special Lieutenant. I'll handle this situation with the Commanding Officer of the base. Go and prepare for the competition.

After saluting Kazama, Tatsuya walked off toward the hotel to retire for the night having not seen the smirk Kazama was bearing as he wished he could see the fun unfold the next day.

* * *

 **(Next day, Day 1 of the NSC)**

The Nine Schools Competition was well known to be a popular competition. Over the ten days of the competition, more than 100,000 people would show up, though most days only around 10,000 were present. However, the online audience easily exceeded a million viewers.

The current event, Speed Shooting, proved to be especially popular. Many of the front seats had been taken because of interested teenage boys in particular.

"Onii-san, the President is taking to the field," Miyuki said.

Erika spoke up, saying "Well that explains all the testosterone taking all the best seats…"

Tatsuya replied with "I see quite a few women up front as well. Mayumi must have broad appeal."

Erika smirked at Tatsuya knowingly; Tatsuya ignored the look.

"Some people use the President as the subject for doujins, in fact," Mizuki said.

Everyone stared at Mizuki because of that comment. Even Tatsuya looked a bit shocked. But because he wasn't the emotive type, it was a little hard to distinguish from his usual expression. Mizuki blushed in embarrassment at all the attention and tried to deflect away all questions regarding how she knew of such things.

While the crowd had been quite lively up to now, when the sign indicating the Speed Shooting event was about to start, everyone became silent.

Mayumi had stepped to her platform in front of the play field. She wore a slick, silvery, skintight suit along with green earmuffs to suppress the loud sounds of the competition. Her rifle-type CAD was at the ready.

At the sound of the starting signal, Mayumi and her opponent began to execute their magics at the target discs being shot out.

Mayumi was firing high-speed ice projectiles at her targets with flawless precision, destroying her targets like it was going out of fashion. Although it wasn't the finals, the speed of the targets was considerable, surprising Tatsuya given how effortless Mayumi seemed to find and hit them.

Thanks to his "Elemental Sight", Tatsuya realized Mayumi was using her own sensory magic to locate each of the targets, making blasting them a cinch.

As quick as the match had begun, it had ended with clear dominance on Mayumi's part. Her opponent had barely hit 50 out of her 100 targets whereas Mayumi had achieved a flawless victory by hitting every target that was sent her way.

"W-wow, that was incredible. The President didn't miss a single time," Honoka said in awe.

Leo agreed, saying "Her Magic Power really is enormous. She didn't have any issue casting that ice projectile magic 100 times…"

Tatsuya felt the strange urge to correct the record. "Mayumi was using a variant of 'Hale Particles'. Given Mayumi's first-class Magic Power and the efficiency of the magic she was using, she could have invoked it 1,000 times if she chose to."

"I wonder how she was able to find all of her targets so easily at those speeds? Some of them were hidden behind other targets," Shizuku asked. Given Shizuku would be participating in Speed Shooting for the Newcomer's Division, she was likely looking for an edge.

Erika, for reasons unbeknownst to Tatsuya, decided on follow-up, asking, "Yeah Tatsuya-kun, tell us how the President did it."

"I'm surprised no one else noticed." Tatsuya eyed Mizuki for confirmation; the girl shook her head 'no'.

"Mayumi was using her sensory magic 'Multi-Scope' to locate all of the target discs. Multi-Scope can see through and around physical obstacles. She uses this magic quite… frequently. That's why such an event is rather easy for someone with her astounding magical ability." Tatsuya didn't elaborate on Mayumi's usage of Multi-Scope in other occasions; he didn't quite know what to make of it.

Because Tatsuya was usually highly critical about anything relating to magic, his unrestrained praise of Mayumi made some present rather jealous. If he had paid closer attention, he would have seen Miyuki eyeing the President with considerable jealousy, despite Tatsuya having praised Miyuki similarly in the past.

Erika lept on her unsuspecting prey. "Wow Tatsuya, you are so… intimately familiar with Mayumi-senpai. Could it be that Tatsuya is into older women?"

"Hm, perhaps I'll answer that question once you or Leo get the nerve to ask each other out."

That snappy response knocked Erika for a loop long enough for Tatsuya to excuse himself. Leo sputtered a rebuttal Tatsuya didn't bother to acknowledge.

Looking down towards the field, Tatsuya noticed Mayumi waving in his direction. After returning a wave to her, he noticed Erika was grinning at him again.

"Why is she so troublesome…" he questioned as he began to exit the stands to go to the stands used to watch the Battle Board event.

Little did Tatsuya know that a certain purpled-haired woman, hidden behind a hat and sunglasses, had watched the entire exchange from a few rows behind his group.

Grinning, the woman said "I think it's time for my entrance~"

* * *

Honami left the Speed Shooting stands from a different exit than Tatsuya did. Because Tatsuya left first, he entered the next arena a short time before his friends were able to catch up.

Noticing this, Honami took off her hat and sunglasses. "Bingo, I got action!"

Honami intercepted Tatsuya in the hallway of the next set of stands...

* * *

Erika, Leo, Miyuki and the rest of their friends followed Tatsuya to watch Mari's Battle Board match. However, they were a ways behind Tatsuya since he left so abruptly.

As Erika drew nearer the entryway she saw Tatsuya enter, she noticed a woman with neck-length purple hair walk in behind Tatsuya and call out loudly, "Taaaaaatsuyaaaaa~"

Tatsuya froze at the sound of her voice, whether from fear or surprise Erika didn't know.

The two began to talk at quieter volume, so Erika couldn't quite make out what they were saying to each other from the wall she was hiding behind.

"Erika, what are you doing hiding there?" Mizuki called out from behind her as the rest of the group caught up.

"Guys, shh, Tatsuya was chatted up by some woman. She's pretty cute, hehe."

Leo seemed surprised and said "Woah woah, lemme see." Miyuki seemed curious as well.

As the group peeked their heads out around the wall, the motherly-looking woman began to kiss Tatsuya's forehead and gave Tatsuya a strong hug.

To the shock of the group, Tatsuya's face burned bright red.

Erika nearly laughed aloud and said "So that guy can actually blush. I guess he really does have a thing for older women. Mayumi-senpai will be sooo disappointed though."

Miyuki actually giggled at the sight, surprising the group given how possessive she was with Tatsuya being around other women.

"You've all misread the situation. I could bail Onii-san out, but he's earned this."

"Oh Tatsuya-kun, I've missed you," The Shibas's mother said before kissed him on the forehead again.

"Come on, we're in public mom…"

Jumping back, the woman said in faux offended voice "Can it be? Are you ashamed of me? Am I too old to associate with you, or meet your friends? You're so cruel, Tatsuya-kun. I thought we were close…"

Erika looked at Miyuki and asked "Wait, that's your mom?" After Miyuki nodded her head, Erika responded "Oh I like her. She's merciless with Tatsuya. He doesn't seem to be able to weather her assault. I've got to learn her secret."

Speaking up, the boy said in a panicked voice "Oi oi, I'm not ashamed of you, of course we're close. Y-you just surprised me is all, Okaa-san."

"Weeeell, if that's the case you should introduce me to your friends at the end of the hall there. They seem pretty confused about what's going on here~"

Tatsuya looked in direction the mother was pointing and groaned. Both of them could see Erika grinning as if Christmas had come early, as well as the faces of his classmates and sister all trying to hold back their laughter.

Erika was the first to falter, her laughter cascading down the hallway. "The mighty Tatsuya Shiba laid low by his mother. I'll compose a eulogy."

As the group stepped forward to meet them, the Erika introduced herself first.

"Hello Ms. Shiba, I'm Erika Chiba. It's nice to meet you! And might I say, while you did a good job with Miyuki here, Tatsuya-kun requires some fine tuning. Might I suggest a software patch to add emotions?"

Laughing at Erika's forthrightness, Honami responded "I'll take that under advisement." Honami considered correcting her that she wasn't "Ms. Shiba", but it was too much effort. Besides, she liked to think of herself as such anyway. "Hello everyone, I'm Honami. It's nice to finally meet you all! Tatsuya and Miyuki have told me much about you."

After the rest of the Shibas's friends introduced themselves to Honami, Erika said, "Well Tatsuya, you're in the clear on this one."

Tatsuya looked bewildered, so he said "What do you mean?"

"Weeell, when I saw a pretty woman older than you kissing and hugging you, I thought my earlier assessment of you was correct. But since it was just your mom, I suppose you're only into a particular girl older than you."

"Erika, please refrain from throwing around these baseless accusations." Tatsuya said. Though he tried to mask it, Erika could tell he was slightly flustered based on the minute hitch in his voice. It seemed that when Honami was around, Tatsuya couldn't seem to hide his emotions as well.

"Oooh what's the story behind that, Erika?" Honami asked with a smug look on her face.

"Hehe, I'd be glad to inform you Ms. Shiba~"

Tatsuya groaned again and ran out of the hallway to hide his flustered expression, dragging Honami along with him.

* * *

Mayumi was initially annoyed by what she had seen, but that quickly turned to confusion.

She had wanted to talk to Tatsuya after her match. After spotting him in the crowd thanks to her sensory magic, they waved at each other. But then he had strangely left the arena, causing her to follow after she quickly changed back into her normal competition uniform.

After searching for him again using Multi-Scope, she saw an older woman kissing his forehead and being generally quite close to him. Initially, she was almost distraught but that quickly changed to confusion when she saw Tatsuya's friends join him. They didn't seem to find the 2 scandalous; they even seemed to be fighting back laughter.

"Hm, who is she?" Mayumi thought. Because the woman didn't really resemble Tatsuya, Mayumi assumed she wasn't his mother.

Trying to mentally prepare herself, Mayumi stop casting Multi-Scope to clear her mind of distractions.

As Mayumi took to the field for the next round of Speed Shooting, she searched the stands for Tatsuya again and wasn't disappointed, as she spotted him watching her closely.

Giving him a wink (which many of the boy's watching mistook as aimed at them), Mayumi turned back to the field to prepare for her match.

After the preliminary round of Speed Shooting, the event became a direct match up between opponents. The 2 would share a playfield in which their respective colored discs would be fired. The victor would be determined by the one who first destroyed 100 of their color of disc. This naturally meant that destroying your opponent's discs helped your opponent win.

As the starting buzzer rang, Mayumi activated her spell, "Magic Shooter".

In the head-to-head round of Speed Shooting, the competition was largely one of Interference Strength. Most competitors used either Oscillation-type Magic or Move-type Magic to destroy the discs directly or to cause the discs to collide with each other.

Because the contestants would inevitably try to cast their respective magics in the same location during the course of the match, the contest would eventually come down to who had the higher Interference Strength to execute magic.

Mayumi had foregone that sort of confrontation, despite having the edge in such a match up. She had chosen to go with "Magic Shooter", which fired ice projectiles to destroy her red discs. By foregoing directly targeting her discs with magic, Mayumi avoided the issue of Interference Strength completely, making it a contest of accuracy and speed alone. Up to now, she had gone with the tactic of blasting her targets the instant they were fired onto the field. And by firing her ice particles from below the discs, she was able to avoid hitting her opponent's white discs.

"Let's see how Ta-kun likes this!" she thought.

With a flurry of spellcasting, Mayumi quickly destroyed a number of discs she had allowed to be fired onto the field. This quickly ended the match. Her opponent must have thought Mayumi had begun to slip from excessive magic use, only to have the match end decisively. She had barely destroyed 30 discs when Mayumi won, netting First High the victory in the match.

As her opponent lay on her knees cursing her crushing defeat and the crowd cheered loudly, Mayumi turned back to the crowd to wave at Tatsuya again. When he returned her wave again, she noticed the purpled-haired woman from before sitting next to him, seemingly trying to stifle laughter.

"I need to get to the bottom of this," she said in a huff.

After changing back into her normal attire, she found Tatsuya and his friends milling about outside the stands.

"Ta-kun, what did you think~?"

Turning to Mayumi with a smirk, he replied "Well, I think you decided to show off a bit. Is such behavior befitting a member of the 10 Master Clans, Mayumi?"

Smirking in return, she said "Showing off? Moi? No no, I think Ta-kun's eyesight needs to evaluated. I simply followed through on my strategy."

"Well, your Magic Power in speed and precision sniping is among the best in the world, so I'm not surprised you won so handily."

"Oh you flatterer~" she said with a hand on her cheek.

The woman from before jumped into the conversation, saving Mayumi from having to look too interested in the women around Tatsuya.

"Hm, 'Ta-kun'? Oh my Tatsuya, getting pet names from all the girls are we?" She softly elbowed Tatsuya in the ribs to punctuate her verbal jab.

"Ta-kun, shouldn't you introduce me to your lady friend?" Mayumi said, trying to keep her nerve intact.

"Ah, my mistake. This is my mother, Honami."

Mayumi failed to hold back her deep sigh of relief at that revelation.

"It's nice to meet you Honami-san."

"Likewise Miss Saegusa. I've… heard a lot about you." She eyed Tatsuya briefly with a smirk.

"Good things, I hope."

Giggling, Tatsuya's mother replied "Oh something like that." Tatsuya elbowed her back to get her to stop talking.

Mayumi had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

Before she could respond, Miyuki spoke up "Onii-san, don't you and Okaa-san have somewhere to be?"

Tatsuya looked down at his watch and said "Ah, you're right. We shouldn't keep them waiting." And with that, Tatsuya left while dragging his giggling mother along with him.

Mayumi turned to Miyuki and asked, "What was that all about?"

Responding somewhat stiffly, Miyuki said "Oh they had some lunch engagement with one of Okaa-san's military acquaintances."

Erika seemed interested. "Oooh, was your mother in in the military Miyuki?"

Miyuki shook her head. "No, she used to be an SP in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, but she has a few military friends she likes to keep up with. They came to watch the competition, so she thought she'd catch up with them over lunch."

* * *

 **(Next day, August 4th)**

As Mayumi performed her warm-up stretches before her Crowd Ball event, she was feeling a bit adventurous. Smiling to herself mischievously, she decided to have a bit of fun.

"Tatsuya-kun, would you mind giving me a hand with my stretches?"

"Sure thing," the boy in question responded simply.

With her legs spread outwards, Tatsuya began pressing Mayumi down from behind her so that her chest was touching the ground.

"Enjoying the show, Ta-kun~?" she thought to her to herself.

After proceeding to stretch herself a few more times, Mayumi held out her hand to Tatsuya. Initially, he didn't understand her unasked question. She raised an eyebrow and pouted slightly to communicate her dissatisfaction.

Getting the hint, the boy grabbed her hand and began to pull Mayumi to her feet.

"Now's my chance, teehee~" she thought to herself.

As she was raised to her feet, Mayumi "tripped" and fell into Tatsuya's arms.

"Woah, watch it!" he said in surprised as he caught Mayumi with his arms around her back.

Her head having been buried into Tatsuya's well-toned chest because of her "accident", Mayumi looked up at his face blushing.

"Sorry about that, Ta-kun. Thanks for the catch~" she said with a wink.

"A-ah, right,", he said as he let her go, his cheeks slightly pink at the close contact.

"Ohoho, is that a blush I see?" she teased.

"Excuse me President, I must be attending to some of the other contestants," he said with suspicious haste.

Suddenly a gift was dropped from the heavens, as Rika Izumi walked by and responded "There's no need, Shiba. I'm handling the other girls so you can continue assisting Saegusa."

Tatsuya briefly had an expression resembling a cornered mouse, causing Mayumi to giggle.

Although Mayumi was performing very well at Crowd Ball, she was feeling a little uncomfortable. Despite feeling closer to Tatsuya, she had felt a strange sensation.

Throughout her matches, she had the odd feeling she was under abnormal observation. As if her entire being were being scrutinized. The source of the disturbance was clearly Tatsuya from what she could tell, but none of the other girls he had worked with reported such a phenomenon.

Eventually, she grew used to it only for it to go away as she returned to talk to him.

"At some point I need to ask him about that. It was quite odd," she thought nervously. She doubted he would tell her, seeing as he had already spilled the beans about his Decomposition magic.

Then it occurred to her. "Is he using some kind of sensory magic to get back at me from before? Why that little… and he called _me_ a stalker. Hmph." She pouted a bit at the hypocrisy.

* * *

Despite their respective sensory magics, neither Tatsuya nor Mayumi had detected the steeled blue eyes that had been watching them from afar for a couple of hours.

As Miyuki walked off to watch one of the Monolith Code matches, she spoke in an upset voice, "Those two… are they actually together?!"

Miyuki couldn't get the images of Mayumi and Tatsuya hugging out of her mind.

"Onii-san, we are going to talk about this! You can't be with her, you're supposed to be with me!" she said angrily, almost in tears.

* * *

 ***** 108 (and it's divisors like 54) has significance, especially to Buddhists who are practicing their karate kata.

 ****** "Aegis" was Zeus's shield, created by the goddess Athena. As for the magic itself, it's the magic Honami used to block the barrage of flaming missiles launched at Tatsuya in the canon version of the events of Okinawa. The magic that killed her to cast. I figured it would be cool to give it a fitting name (A Greek one, referencing a shield) while not requiring Honami to die if she wanted to cast the magic against powerful attacks in this fic. What can I say, Honami missed my favorite character to write. xD

 ******* Hyperion (meaning "The High-One") was a Titan in Greek mythology. He was known as "The Lord of Light" and "Titan of the East". Given all the Greek and divinity references in Mahouka, especially in the Yotsuba, I thought it was a missed opportunity by Satou to not make this Maya's epithet. After all, Maya's unique magic is an unblockable light magic, "Meteor Stream" (hence "Lord of Light") and she lives in Japan (hence "Titan of the East"). Other Greek references in Yotsuba was her sister Miya, who was known as the "Mistress of the Lethe" and Miyuki's unique magic "Cocytus". Not to mention Tatsuya's epithet "Mahesvara" after the deity in Hinduism.

* * *

 **(A/N):** Hey, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter! Please drop me a review if you liked it or if you think it could have improvements.

Btw, I started a Naruto fanfic a few days ago called "The Ties That Bind". Hopefully these 2 fics don't interfere with each other time wise. I'm nearly done with the 2nd chapter of that fic, so I think I can juggle the 2 by publishing them on different weeks. Go read it if you're interested.

Thanks for reading!


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